(Cricinfo) Trinidad & Tobago have dominated the West Indies T20 circuit for years. From the Stanford T20 series in 2008* which launched them to the Champions League T20, the guile has been evident. Their players form the core of the current World T20 champions, West Indies, and the now-defunct Caribbean T20 regional tournament was their sandbox. Earlier this year, T&T once again steamrolled to the title of the tournament that has now been replaced by the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), and as far as the Champions League goes, the question remains – can the ‘Red Force’ transfer their imperious domestic form to the world stage?
In 2009, they were close but fell one win short of the title. New South Wales edged them out in the final of this tournament and since then, they’ve shown flashes of brilliance, bar the 2010 tournament when Guyana represented the region. This inconsistent, and at times disappointing showing, may be due to the fact that T&T’s two talismans, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo, usually find themselves with their IPL units. T&T do seem to rely on them a bit too much. However, depth has always been the focus for Denesh Ramdin’s team. Ramdin has a tough task ahead to build on the foundation laid by Daren Ganga in the past but the blend of youth and experience in the T&T ranks is something that West Indian fans, as seen in Sri Lanka in 2012, will no doubt be throwing their weight behind.
Given West Indies’ regional T20 competition has been replaced by the franchise-based CPL, this is the team’s last chance at glory as a bona fide regional unit.
