ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – This year’s NAGICO Super50 Tournament opens this Thursday in Trinidad & Tobago.
Barbados Pride were crowned NS50 champions last year after promising much in the shorter formats in recent times and failing to deliver. Prevailing over hosts and long-standing regional sports rivals Trinidad & Tobago in the Grand Final at Queen’s Park Oval would have been a feather in their caps.
The title, their seventh in the regional One-day format (including one shared), would have been a source of great relief for the Pride, since their previous title was shared with Leeward Islands Hurricanes following a tied Grand Final five season ago.
They return to this year’s tournament as passionate about success as they were last season, but recognise it will be challenging, due to the pressure of defending title and the loss of a number of players that were key to their success last year because of West Indies international duty.
The Pride play alongside Combined Campuses & Colleges, Guyana Jaguars and Windward Islands Volcanoes in Group “A” of this year’s tournament.
The first stage of the NS50 will be the group stage comprising a series of non-elimination matches in each group – each team will play every other team in its group – with two matches being contested daily at either the Queen’s Park Oval, the T&T Cricket Board’s National Cricket Centre in the central Trinidad community of Couva, or Shaw Park in Scarborough, the capital of Trinidad’s sister island Tobago.
Following the group stage, the top two teams in each group will progress to the semi-finals at the Oval, where the group winners play the runners-up from the opposite group in a one-off match for a place in the Grand Final on Sunday, January 25 at the same venue.
Today, WICB Media presents key quotes from Pride Head Coach Hendy Springer.
On the pressure of being defending champions:
It puts you under a lot of pressure. First, being the champions, and secondly, having some of our key players from last year away on West Indies duty, but we can use these as a positive thing and this can be opportunity for the young players that have not played One-day cricket for our team for some time to come into the side and make a name for themselves.
On the affect missing players will have on team’s approach:
It will affect us. We have some dynamic players away. People like Dwayne Smith, Carlos Brathwaite, Sulieman Benn and Jason Holder, but there are a few players who sat on the sidelines last year that now have an opportunity to play well and make a name for themselves.
On Pride’s lack of dominance of regional One-day competitions:
I think it has been a lack of awareness, sometimes losing wickets at the wrong time, a variety of reasons. There is one thing we can pinpoint. I think we are slowly trying to work our way to the top of this particular concern. It should give guys coming into the side the ambition to do well and looking at the record of where we were, where we are and where we want to be.
On preparations:
Preparations have been going pretty good. We had a number of practice matches and we have now refined it now for the competition squad.
On players expected to make an impact:
Kirk Edwards did not play last year and will be looking to stamp his authority on this tournament. Kevin Stoute is our captain and he will be the first to tell you that he did not get the numbers he wanted. But I think all have something to prove, including Tino Best, who was part of the competition squad and did not play a single match.
On definition for success other than winning:
I want to see a good, all-round team effort. Players have different responsibilities within the team, but I want a good all-round effort to see that everybody has gotten an opportunity to do the business, rather than depend on one, two or three people. If one, two or three people do well however, the other players have to be ready just in case the form players fall below expectations.