The Barbados Pride men’s senior national cricket team will face Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in the final of the regional Super50 tournament on Saturday at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in south Trinidad.
The match starts at 2pm and will be broadcast LIVE on ESPN Caribbean.
This year’s competition featured the six traditional franchises and the two finalists both ended the preliminary round on 31 points from their five matches therefore reached the grand finale.
The tournament has been quite low-keyed with several matches affected by rain which has led to low crowd turn-out and little interest among fans.
However, there is plenty to play for as the winners will receive the prestigious champion’s trophy and a cheque for US$100,000. The losers will pocket US$50,000.Kyle Mayers, the ambidextrous allrounder is the Barbados captain, while Joshua Da Silva, the wicket-keeper/batter is the Trinidad and Tobago captain.
This will be the second final in a row for Barbados, as they reached last year’s final against Jamaica Scorpions as well. That match was also scheduled for the Brian Lara Cricket Academy but was not played due to inclement weather.
Looking ahead to the final Barbados Head Coach, Vasbert Drakes said they are looking to win and give the country a prestigious title to celebrate the 59th anniversary of independence.
“The guys are excited … they are also confident and clear in their minds what they need to do. There is the firm belief that we can get the job done. As a group we are playing a cricket game so we’re not taking anything for granted. We know we’re going to continue to back our process and have that faith that is required to get the desired results.”
Drakes added: “We also recognize that we are in the Independence period, and we want to give the people of Barbados and the Bajans community real pleasure and joy and have something special to celebrate to mark the occasion.” (PS)
