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TT Red Force captain Kieron Pollard said his team's impeccable showing in the preliminary phase of the CG Insurance Super50 tournament will count for nothing against Jamaica Scorpions in semi-final one at Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua, from 1.30 pm, on Wednesday.
Red Force were the only team which ended the preliminary phase with a perfect five wins from as many matches. Jason Mohammed has led the way with the bat for the TT franchise with 285 runs in five innings, including a knock of 122 against Barbados Pride.
On Tuesday, speaking to journalists on Zoom, Pollard said the preliminary phase is behind them. "For us what is done is done. All that is in the past, you can't really bask on that...all the good cricket that you would have played can count for nothing if you lose one game. We have to be on our ps and qs. We have to be able to execute what we want to do as a team and hopefully we come out with that mentality tomorrow (Wednesday) please God."
Asked what his message is to the team to avoid complacency, Pollard said, "The message is simple – go out and continue playing the good cricket that you have been playing. In terms of complacency, I would believe that you would be complacent in the league phase if you have won two or three games going into the playoffs, but knowing...it is a knock-out scenario if you turn up complacent then I don't think you should be in our team or in the tournament, so again for us it is about playing consistent cricket." Pollard is aware the Scorpions players will be confident after winning back-to-back matches to end the preliminary phase.
It is uncertain who will start for Red Force on Wednesday as all 15 players on the squad have already featured. "It is difficult (to find the right balance). I think it is good that we have that difficult sort of situation that presents itself." Pollard, who said in short tournaments it is not the norm that all members of a squad get to play, added, "It is a decision that we'll have to make in terms of the combination or who we see fit at that point in time. I know once we sit down and make that decision it will be all in the interest of TT cricket and the team that is here to win the cricket match on the day."
Scorpions needed a victory over Pride in its final match of the prelims on Sunday to qualify for the semifinals.
Scorpions were in trouble on 87/8 batting first, but lower resistance led by 68 not out from Odean Smith took the team to a respectable total of 218 all out in 45.3 overs. In response, Pride were 118/1 in the 22nd over when the Barbados franchise lost its way. Pride were all out for 167 in 41.1 overs after losing its last nine wickets for 49 runs. Spinner Andre McCarthy destroyed the Pride batting with figures of 6/16 in 9.1 overs as Scorpions ended fourth on the table.
Scorpions captain Rovman Powell said it is a possibility that Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner and John Campbell may be available for the semi-final. The players were part of the West Indies Test team which toured Bangladesh.
"We still waiting on covid19 protocols. The guys have been in quarantine since they came from Bangladesh, so we just hoping that their last set of covid tests come back negative and once that comes back negative then I think we have the word from CWI that those guys are available for the semi-final."
Powell said the top players must show their quality. "It is just for our key players to be held accountable. So far our key players haven't really come to the party. We see time and time again and talk about key players or our match winners coming to the party."
In the second semi-final at Coolidge on Thursday, Guyana Jaguars will tackle Windward Islands Volcanoes from 1.30 pm.
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