SPORTS

It's NSW's disciplne vs Caribbean flair

Source:PTI
October 15, 2009 17:28 IST

A battle of nerves will unfold when Trinidad & Tobago and New South Wales Blues -- the two unbeaten sides in the event so far -- clash in a League A match of the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 tournament in Hyderabad on Thursday.

The Caribbean side surprised everyone with their impressive show in the group stage where they ousted of Indian Premier League II champions Deccan ChargersĀ on Wednesday night.

Riding on a strong all round performance, Trinidad & Tobago humbled Somerset in their opening group encounter.

Even though, the Caribbeans started as underdogs, they have shown they are not just paper tigers as they have quite a few match-winners up their ranks.

Skipper Dwayne Bravo, who has been more successful with the ball so far, taking seven wickets in two matches, is due for big runs as he yet to explode with bat.

However, somebody or the other from both the top and lower order have chipped in with useful contribution in times of crisis to help Trinidad & Tobago's cause.

William Perkins has got good starts at the top but he would looking forward to capitalise on them and get a big total against his name as the competition gets tougher and stiffer from here on.

On the other hand, NSW captain Simon Katich would rely on his side's all-round performance, which helped them to overcome South Africa's Diamond Eagles and English county side Sussex Sharks in their group outings.

With their fancied batting order boasting of Katich himself, Philip Hughes, David Warner and Moises Henriques, the Australian side would be hoping to slaughter the less experienced West Indian bowling attack.

On the bowling front, Brett Lee has been in great form and would definitely act as a thorn in the flesh for Trinidad batsmen.

The NSW bowling department can be touted as the best in the cash-rich Twenty20 event with the likes of Doug Bollinger, Stuart Clark, Nathan Hauritz in their armour apart from Lee.

But eventually the team that handles pressure well will come out victorious in the battle between the Calypso Kings and the Australian Kangaroos.

The teams (from):

New South Wales Blues: Simon Katich (C), Aaron Bird, David Warner, Dominic Thornely, Steven Smith, Daniel Smith, Ben Rohrer, Steve O'Keefe, Brett Lee, Doug Bollinger, Simon Keen, Stuard Clark, Nathan Hauritz, Moises Henriques, Philip Hughes.

Trinidad and Tobago: Daren Ganga (C), Samuel Badree, Navin Stewart, Lendl Simmons, Ravi Rampaul, Denesh Ramdin, Kieron Pollard, William Perkins, Sunil Narine, Dave Mohammed, Adrian Barath, Dwayne Bravo, Rayad Emrit, Sherwin Ganga.

Source: PTI
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