Warrican: SVG will Rise against St. Maarten

Using the promotion question of the Stanford 20/20 Cricket Tournament, Coach of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines team Irvine Warrican is certain that his team would rise against St. Maarten tonight at the Stanford Cricket Ground in Antigua and Barbuda.{{more}}

Both teams are playing their first match, match six of the lucrative single elimination tournament, which began last Saturday, with an impressive ceremony.

Warrican thought that something has to go drastically wrong in their match up against St. Maarten for them not to come out the victors.

“Having said that, we are not taking anything for granted and are expecting competition from St. Maarten”, Warrican said.

He is pinning their hopes on the all round strength of the team.

“We have a balanced team, and with the talent we have with batting right down the order, I can’t see why we wouldn’t win”, the former St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Windwards off spinner boasted.

He said that with the experience in their bowling department, especially that of Captain Deighton Butler, Kenroy Peters and Orlanzo Jackson, Warrican was confident that his team would give a good account of itself.

However, Warrican was wary of the fact that the St. Maarten team is comprised of cricketers from the traditional Caribbean cricket countries, and many have some pedigree.

Warrican’s concern, though, lay in the fact that the team lacked the experience of playing under lights.

He said that some innovations were made during the team’s preparations.

“We used the lights at the Arnos Vale Netball Complex playing with tape ball to get accustomed to the lights”, Warrican said.

“We are supposed to get an hour and a half practice under the lights Thursday night, when we get to Antigua”, Warrican continued.

Warrican is optimistic that once his team gets St. Maarten out of the way, they would set their sights on their next opponent.

The winner of tonight’s match faces the winner of tomorrow night’s encounter between St. Lucia and 2006 losing finalist Trinidad and Tobago.

This second round match is set for February 13.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines enjoyed successes in warm up matches prior to heading for Antigua and Barbuda. A 3-1 triumph over a Barbados Invitational team in Barbados in December, and a similar outcome against Grenada here two weekends ago formed part of their match preparations.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines, in the inaugural tournament in 2006, beat the United States Virgin Islands in their opening fixture, but bowed out to Grenada by the Duckworth/Lewis system in a rain affected quarter final.

The St. Vincent and the Grenadines team which left last Wednesday morning, reads Deighton Butler (Captain), Orlanzo Jackson, Rommel Currency, Miles Bascombe, Hyron Shallow, Donwell Hector, Lynden James ,Kenroy Martin, Alston Bobb, Hezron Lawerence, Othneil Baptiste, Kenroy Peters and Dyke Cato.

Butler, Jackson, Currency, Bascombe, Martin, Baptiste, and James are survivors from the 2006 sojourn.

Former St. Vincent and the Grenadines medium pacer Eric Browne is the team’s manager. (RT)