Benjamin: Hurricanes Not A One-man Team

Coach of the Leeward Island’s Hurricanes, Reginald Benjamin, has warned that his team’s batting will not be solely dependent on any one player during the WICB’s Regional Super50 slated to start next week.
The Antiguan was, at the time, responding to questions regarding the inclusion of experienced West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels and whether the team’s batting would hinge on the Jamaican.
“We are not going to center our batting on any one player. We are a team in which everyone holds a certain [amount of] responsibility; and we have other players that incase Marlon shows up and he is not in the best of form that they can step up. We’re a team that depend on each other but, at the same time, the top players will be ready to step up and we welcome Marlon and he knows that,” he said.
Samuels was included in the Hurricanes’ final 14 to contest Group A of the tournament starting January 24 here in Antigua and also in Barbados.
Benjamin re-affirmed his confidence in his squad and their ability to advance from the group stage of the tournament.
“I think that we have a solid team and we have people who believe that we can do it within the team so it’s a different approach than just showing up. We know that we have a lot to gain from advancing in this tournament and that’s the focus,” he said.
Addressing what has since become a highly debated topic, Benjamin said the issue of inviting players from other Caribbean countries to trials has been a common practice for the Leeward Islands, adding that he sees nothing wrong with the move.
“Players reach out to Leeward Islands to offer their services on the field or off the field and we as an entity saw it fit to then invite these players; but as I said before, this does not guarantee they are going to play with the team. Who performs get selected and who does not perform gets left out and that’s how the process work,” the coach said.
The Leeward Islands Hurricanes will play in Group A of the competition alongside defending champions Trinidad & Tobago Red Force, as well as Windward Islands Volcanoes, West Indies Under-19s and English county side, Kent Spitfires.
Group B comprises the Guyana Jaguars, Jamaica Scorpions, Combined Campuses & Colleges Marooners and ICC Americas along with home team Barbados Pride.