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Focus on speed signals holders’ intent for Classic

Clay Smith

St George’s Cricket Club head coach Clay Smith said the selectors had picked a team with just one thought in mind, to win Cup Match.The holders have named a strong squad with 10 current Bermuda players in their starting XI, and only Allan Douglas Jnr has yet to represent the Island on the international stage.In a change in policy from previous years St George’s have named a three-pronged pace attack, handing Damali Bell his debut, recalling Stefan Kelly to the side and keeping Justin Pitcher.Of the side selected, the only real surprise is the omission of Chris Foggo. However, a batsmen was always likely to be dropped to accommodate an extra bowler and Foggo didn’t do his cause any good by failing to turn up for the final trial on Saturday.“It’s a solid team,” said Smith. “Leaving out Chris (Foggo) wasn’t easy, but we’ve picked a very strong, well-balanced team. Our first priority is to win the Cup, and I think we’ve taken a team that can do just that.“We wanted to take three pacers because we want to win the Cup this year and that meant one batsman was going to be left out, and unfortunately that was Chris.“The last two years we’ve only gone with two pacers, and two spinners. The pacers have really toiled, so we’ve got rid of one batsman, chosen another pacer because we want to give the crowd what they want, and that’s a victory.“We’re going to take the game to Somerset, but at the same time we’re hoping Somerset come at us just as hard.”The decision to leave out Foggo hardly affects a batting line-up which will see wicketkeeper Jason Anderson play a prominent role, while Allan Douglas’ 50 in Saturday’s final trial also saw him secure a spot.Anderson got the nod ahead of Christian Burgess who has been slightly erratic behind the stumps in the trial games, and was out for a duck on Saturday.“We decided to go with Jason, he’s been scoring runs on a regular basis, and I think young Allan Douglas selected himself with his fine knock,” said Smith. “At the end of the day I think it’s the best team we could have come up with.”There is certainly strength in depth in the batting, with all three pace bowlers more than capable of holding their own if necessary.“You look at our bowlers, even Justin Pitcher and Damali Bell (can bat),” said Smith. “Justin will be coming in at nine, with Damali at 10, and these guys are batting four and five for their league teams. Our batting is extremely deep, we also have bowlers that can penetrate, I’m very happy with the team.”Of the players that missed out, Shae Pitcher and Lateef Trott were given the consolation of being named as reserves, and Smith fully expects them to feature in the future.Onais Bascome also earned a spot with an impressive half-century on Saturday, which he backed up with another one in yesterday’s Colts Cup Match.“You look at Onais (Bascome), Shae (Pitcher), and Lateef (Trott) these are three players for the future,” said Smith.“Basically, Shae and Lateef are first class fielders, and we’re looking at Onais as a future player that we wanted to get in that atmosphere so he experiences what it’s like being at Cup Match and playing.“He’ll get a little taste of it so that when we does get to the stage he’s sort of acclimatised to it already.”St George’s: Oronde Bascome (capt), Jason Anderson, Damali Bell, Delyone Borden, Lionel Cann, Fiqre Crockwell, Allan Douglas Jnr, Stefan Kelly, Justin Pitcher, Oliver Pitcher, Rodney Trott. Reserves: Onais Bascome, Shae Pitcher, Lateef Trott.