Ganga thanks TT public for support
By JOEL BAILEY Saturday, October 8 2011
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Members of the Trinidad and Tobago cricket team return home after competing at the Nokia Champions League T20 tournament at the VIP Lounge of the Piar...
DAREN GANGA, captain of the Trinidad and Tobago cricket team, has expressed his gratitude to the nation for their support of the squad during the Nokia Champions League T20 in India.
Ganga was speaking on Thursday evening at the VIP Lounge of the Piarco International Airport after the team returned home from India.
“It was a fantastic tournament for us,” said the 32-year-old. “We were a bit disappointed that we weren’t able to go forward into the semi-final round and stake a solid claim to winning this title.
Ganga continued, “as everyone would be aware, in 2009 we were in the final and we lost to New South Wales. This year, I think, although we did not get to the final, before we left these shores, we promised that we would represent Trinidad and Tobago in the true spirit of this country.”
The former West Indies batsman added, “when I say true spirit, I mean with passion, with pride and play cricket to the best of our ability. I think no one can deny that this team didn’t do such.”
After defeating Ruhuna of Sri Lanka and Leicestershire of England in the Qualifying Phase, Trinidad and Tobago narrowly lost their first two games in Group “A”, by one wicket against Mumbai Indians (India) and by four runs, in the Super Over, against New South Wales (Australia).
The TT outfit returned with victories against Chennai Super Kings (India) and Cape Cobras (South Africa) but finished third in the five-team group.
“Out of the six games that we played, we won four and we lost two very close games which proved to be very critical in terms of us going forward,” said Ganga. “Publicly, I’ll like to say thanks again to all the members of our team for the efforts that they put out to represent 1.3 million people in Trinidad.
“This is the only team in the Western Hemisphere that represented a country in this tournament. That, in itself, shows how very significant and how very powerful we are as a cricketing nation.”
I hate this jackass mentality...we have in TNT....d team blasted loss...WDF--- yuh patting yuhself on yuh back....say yuh flippin lorse and yuh didnt take advantage of d opportunity...call ah friggin spade ah spade...steups
Ganga also lauded the efforts of his team-mates as well as the technical staff (coach Kelvin Williams, manager Omar Khan and physio Ronald Rogers), while he also highlighted the support of Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) members Dudnath Ramkessoon, Baldath Mahabir and Suruj Ragoonath who were with the team in India.
“Trinidad and Tobago may be disappointed with us not being able to win this title, but our performances there definitely enhanced our reputation as a Trinidad and Tobago team,” Ganga admitted. “We definitely represented Trinidad and Tobago in the best possible manner and I can assure you there are still a lot of work to be done but, over time, we will be, if not the best Twenty20 team in the world, very close to being there. I give you that assurance.
“The guys were very committed to lifting the standard of Trinidad and Tobago cricket and representing the people of Trinidad and Tobago in the best possible manner,” continued Ganga. “Thanks to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, to the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board and to all who supported us throughout this entire competition. We did not bring back the prize but we won the hearts of so many people.”
With regards to the Regional Super 50 Tournament, which will take place in Guyana from October 19-29, Ganga stressed, “we have another challenge in that of the 50-over competition and we’ll be working very hard to (regaining) that 50-over title.”
