MATCH: Leicestershire v Trinidad and Tobago
DATE: Tuesday, September 20, 2011
TIME: 1600 hours IST (1030 hours GMT)
VENUE: Uppal in Hyderabad
The third game of the Champions League T20 2011 qualifiers will see Leicestershire take on Trinidad and Tobago for the Pool A. This is Leicestershire’s first ever game in the Champions League T20 as they open their campaign this season. Trinidad and Tobago are playing their second game this season after winning their first against Ruhuna on Monday.
Past Results:
Leicestershire (1/1 at
bet365) were the Friends Provident T20 champions, with a win over Somerset in the final that earned them a ticket to the Champions League T20. They had to overcome Lancashire in the semi-final in a rain-afflicted game, that went down to the Super Over but had it much easier in the final against Somerset.
Earlier, Leicestershire had finished second in their group, winning 10 of their 16 games in the first round, before beating Kent in the quarter-finals in a high-scoring encounter.
Trinidad and Tobago (10/11 at
BetFred) began their Champions League T20 campaign with a win over Ruhuna in a relatively lower-scoring game at the same ground. Ruhuna were held to 138 in their 20 overs, a score that looked stiff when the team from the Caribbean required 58 off the last six overs with half the side back in the pavilion. Sherwin Ganga was the man of the match.
Team News:
The Trinidad and Tobago had gone into the first game with a decent bowling line-up but the batting seemed a tad under-cooked despite the late-order effort by Ganga in the game. Bravo played a matured innings, one that hasn’t been really associated with him in his short international career but Leicestershire need to beware that he can tee off well once he has had a start.
It was a surprise that Trinidad and Tobago dropped Dave Mohammad from the side, but the selected trio of Samuel Badree, Sunil Narine and Ganga did an excellent job in containing the opposition to only 70 off their 10 overs. With Kevon Cooper coming good as well, it seems like Mohammad could continue warming the bench for this one unless they drop one of Badree or Narine.
Judging by the manner in which the pitch played in the first couple of games, it wouldn’t be such a bad idea for Leicestershire to slip in a couple of spinners into the side. Captain Matthew Hoggard has already spoken about how Leicestershire will go into the tournament as underdogs but if he is serious about making it through to the main draw, he might have to look at playing not more than himself and all-rounder Abdul Razzaq (6/1 at
Stan James to top-score for his side) as the two medium-pace bowlers.
Who is hot?
Ravi Rampaul was one of the under-rated contributions for the day, as he took a couple of wickets and conceded only 17 from his four overs despite bowling in the slog overs. While the opposition concentrate on spin, there could be a danger that he goes about picking the wickets.
Leicestershire will hope for the fireworks from Razzaq, given that the conditions aren’t too unlike what he encounters while playing back home in Pakistan. His all-round skills will be handy.
Prediction:
A look at history says that Trinidad and Tobago should be favourites given their experience at playing this – and well at that – before. That they could afford to rest Dave Mohammad on a slow pitch like this makes them favourite against Leicestershire. What could add pressure on to them as well as act as motivation is the fact that if they win this one, Trinidad and Tobago would be through to the main draw.
