"It Was A Sweet Victory" - Denesh Ramdin

Going into the finals of the Carib Beer Challenge Trophy we had a lot confidence. We needed to win because Barbados had the better of us in the first match this season and there is always something to talk about between the two teams. It was a sweet victory for us, it's good to beat the Barbadians in our own backyard. It was really a big victory.

We had to take revenge because we lost that first game this year and we knew they would come hard at us. There was rivalry between the two teams, they tried to intimidate us with a lot of sledging as well as bowling short balls but we were disciplined enough not to fall into their traps.

We have to congratulated our captain Daren Ganga because he really batted well in both innings. Ravi Rampaul bowled excellently also to ensure the victory. Daren's century put us in front and we thought we could have bowled out the Barbadians for about 150 but Ryan Hinds played an excellent innings to ensure that we did not get a huge lead. They then tried to restrict us knowing that they were behind. They camel out attacking us and they picked up a couple of early wickets and put us under pressure with some tight bowling helped by some careless shots on our part and they were able to bowl us out in the end.

We gave them 276 to win and on the third day, in the last session they had a good start to get to 99 for 1. We knew though, that we needed one wicket to upset them. We got the wicket and a few more followed. Ravi bowled us back into the game and he gave us a good chance of finishing it off on the fourth day. A couple of wickets from Taddy (Dave Mohammed) and then Ravi came back and closed it off for us. It was a tremendous feeling to win that crucial game.

I think we're on the right track in terms of Trinidad and Tobago cricket. We just need now for the younger players to step up and score centuries alongside the captain so it won't be a one man show. I think it is our consistency that is doing it for us, our all round game, it is not just our batting or bowling. We try to help one another on and off the field, we gel together nicely. We go out and try to execute the plans that we have for teams and not try to do the opposite. We also always put the team first and individual performances after. I think that's why we have been so successful.

The local cricket in Trinidad and Tobago has helped significantly as well. There are three different tournaments, a 50 overs, a 20/20 and a 3-day. There is a lot of cricket being played and that is good for us as players. Then quite a few of the players also go off overseas to play in different leagues as well.

We have gotten our hands on most of the regional trophies and we are now looking to get the regional 20/20 trophy. A lot of the players are looking forward to the next tournament and they are talking about it a lot. We will start our preparations for that tournament shortly.

Right now we are just trying to enjoy the victory we had. In the next few days we will head off to Jamaica and get together for the World Cup. As everyone has been saying we are all very much anxious and looking forward to it. Personally it is the biggest platform and I'd like to do great things in the World Cup for my team.

Finally I'd like to urge the guys on the Trinidad and Tobago team to continue to work hard and enjoy the victory and look for more in future. I enjoy playing for TT as well and I'd like to thank all the fans who came out to support us and believed in us all the way. Their support really means a lot to us as players.

"Pollard Can Do It" - Denesh Ramdin

I was quite confident of being selected to the World Cup squad. In India I could have done better with the gloves and gone on to get bigger scores but I unfortunately got out. After I returned home I continued to work hard on my game and my fitness. My batting is coming along now and I am still working on my keeping to ensure it gets better everyday.

I got a start with the bat against Jamaica in the KFC Cup but I did not carry on. I am quite happy with how things are progressing for me now though and I am looking forward to improving and carrying on. I am looking forward to this World Cup especially since this is like a progression for me. This will be my first World Cup at the senior level. I have played in the Under 15 and Under 19 World Cups before but this is the biggest stage and it is special that it will be in the West Indies. It is tremendous that we will be playing at home in a World Cup for the first time.

On a personal note I am looking forward to doing well and putting my team in a winning position. I know it is important for all of us to always be supporting each other on the field and off the field as well. We are representing ourselves, the team but most importantly all the people of the Caribbean and we have to make them proud. We take that very seriously as a team.

Some people ask whether there is additional pressure on wicketkeepers these days to score runs in addition to keeping well. I am personally accustomed to it, it's just to go out there and be positive, read the game accordingly and not putting yourself under pressure.

I have to congratulate Simmo (Lendl Simmons) for being selected to the squad as well. Special congratulations also to Kieron Pollard for making the West Indies World Cup squad. This has been his first season of first class cricket and he came on strong. He has shown that he has the character and the ability to go out there and play his natural game. He does not put pressure on himself. He is still only 19 and to be selected to a World Cup squad is a great achievement for any young player in his first first class season, even after getting a couple of centuries under his belt.

I wish him all the best and hope that he can go on to do great things in the World Cup. He has the capability of going out there and doing it. He just has to be careful to chose the right balls to go at and concentrate on his game. At the international level the bowlers and more experienced and smarter than bowlers at our regional level. They will adapt to the situations faster and they will try to work out his strengths and bowl to his not-so-strong areas.

After returning from India Simmo, Rayad (Emrit) and I joined the Trinidad and Tobago team which was playing some tremendous cricket. The guys were a winning team and they were dominating. We played well to get into the final of the KFC Cup and we are looking forward to the final. We are very confident of winning, we know we have to play as a team, bowl well, bat in partnerships and back ourselves all the way.

In the Carib Beer Series when we returned, the team was in a position where we needed a couple of points to go through to the final. We were up against Jamaica and they needed to win outright to move ahead of us. They won first innings points but we bounced back even though they tried to intimidate us with fast bowling, bowling short to us.

We prevailed in the end and we are now looking forward to the final against Barbados in Trinidad. They had the better of us so far this year but we are not in our backyard and that will give us some advantage.

Surprised To Be Named Cricketer Of The Year - Chris Gayle

First of all I have to mention how pleasing it was to be named West Indies Cricketer of the Year for the first time. I have to give thanks to all of my teammates because it would not have been possible without them. I have to give thanks to all of the fans as well for all their support throughout 2006. I believe 2006 could have been a better year but I still have to give thanks for what I achieved. I was very surprised to win the award because there were other players who did well during 2006 including Daren Ganga, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Brian Lara who also scored Test hundreds.

I hope that 2007 brings more success in my cricketing career.

It was a very good ceremony put on by the West Indies Players Association. I think they have done a tremendous job and I believe that they have to keep up the good work and hopefully make things bigger and better for the players as well. Dinanath Ramnarine has been doing a good job, he has been working well on the whole situation for players and the rest of the members of WIPA have been working hard as well. They all deserve credit.

World Cup preparations have obviously started some time now and I have been doing light training, going to the gym and working on strengthening my body and getting in the fittest condition for the World Cup. I have also been spending a lot of time with my family and hopefully leading up to the World Cup we can get more intense preparation.

We are at home for this World Cup for the first time and obviously everyone is looking forward to the event. The World Cup is a big occasion as we all know and it is a big occasion not only for the players but for the entire Caribbean. We want to win, it would be nice for us to be the first team to host World Cup and win it.

It won’t be a walkover. It would be tough opposition from the other teams and playing at home will be more pressure but I am sure everyone will want to do well.

The team has been playing good one day cricket over the past year and we need to improve on that to do well and hopefully everybody will be fit for the World Cup.

Turning to Jamaica’s cricket in the regional tournaments I thought it was another bad year for Jamaica. We were not able to reach the final four in the KFC Cup or go on further in the Carib beer Series. It is something that we have to sort out quickly. We have the talent, there is no doubt about that but we are not producing the goods. It is something for Jamaica cricket to take into consideration.

Nevertheless there were a lot of positives coming out of the tournament. It was really good to see young Brenton Parchment emerging with back-to-back centuries against Trinidad and Tobago. Tamar Lambert also got his first first class hundred and Jermaine Lawson was tremendous with the ball picking up 29 wickets.

We now have to go back and sort ourselves out and make our team and our cricket better and come stronger next year. Also in the Jamaica cricket fraternity they need to look into to how the players have been treated and there must be a change in the system pertaining to the treatment of the players. Players feel as though they have been pressured by management and maybe they need to look at making the players more comfortable.

An Introduction to the Player Diaries

Chris Gayle has become a major name in One Day International cricket. He is a big, imposing batsman who takes bowlers on. Cricket fans will know that One Day cricket demands a batsman at the top of the order who can get runs on the board quickly and start positively. Gayle is not just a destructive batsman; he is a useful bowler having taken 139 wickets in 159 one day games. But it is his batting that is what makes him one of the most exciting players to watch at the moment; his selection in the World XI last year to play Australia was a testament to his quality.

The West Indies team are a good bet for this World Cup. They have played some great One Day cricket over the last few years and do have the batting line up to compete with the big boys. Indeed, when you look at the averages for players like Gayle, Sarwan and Lara it is noticeable that many of the West Indian side have fared very well against Australia and Pakistan.

Ramnaresh Sarwan is now the regular vice captain, the right hander has been impressive enough to have been officially ranked the best batsman in One Day International cricket and to have won the ICC Player of the Tournament when the West Indies took the ICC Champions Trophy in 2004. He has not yet found an avenue to overcome his inability to resist the sometimes ill-executed hook shot which has brought his downfall much to the ire of fans and pundits alike. Sarwan’s stature as one of the premier West Indies batsman of the day though is unquestioned and his statistics do reflect the quality that he brings to the crease. After over 50 tests Sarwan has accumulated just under 4000 runs at an average that is always hovering over the 40 mark. He has eight test hundreds and 23 fifties in addition to his two ODI tons and 16 fifties.

Denesh Ramdin: After coming through the junior ranks with high praise and a solid debut season of regional cricket Ramdin broke into the senior squad as the selectors looked to youth to fill the wicket keeping breach left by the brigade of keepers on the wrong side of 30. A nifty gloveman, his work behind the stumps, on the strength of his lightening quick legs, is clean and thorough while he offers forthright stroke play with the bat which was best displayed when he took on the rampaging Australians in late 2005 for his second half century. Though only 20, Ramdin has impressed numerous aficionados, notably the famed Aussie wicketkeeper Ian Healy with whom he has done much work with. In a few short seasons of first class cricket he has moved into the slot of specialist batsman for Trinidad and Tobago, having already registered two regional hundreds (107 &125).