They arrived in India with few recognisable faces,a small entourage of passionate supporters and the tag of rank underdogs. But the party that the Trinidad and Tobago outfit set in motion in Bangalore has carried on into Hyderabad,and has just got rowdier over the last one week. Along the way,not only have T&T won everybodys hearts with their flamboyant cricket,they are now the only unbeaten team in the competition. Skipper Daren Ganga has repeatedly said that his team had landed here with a clear vision of winning six games and returning home with the trophy. And having won the first four comprehensively,T&T are now favourites going into Thursdays semi-final against the Cobras. While the Cobrass fortunes have depended largely on the performances of Andrew Puttick and JP Duminy,T&T have ended up finding stars in each game. Though Adrian Barath walked away with all the plaudits after their convincing win over Diamond Eagles on Sunday,it was Navin Stewart with his 11-ball 33 who was chiefly responsible for T&T becoming the first outfit to cross the 200-run mark in this competition. And the 26-year-old fast bowling all-rounder hopes that his destructive batting on his first outing was good enough to seal his place in the side. It is quite frustrating turning up and wondering whether you are going to get a go or not. My role in the team is that of a fast bowler,but I have proved my ability with the bat in the few opportunities I have got, says Stewart,the only player in the team,incidentally,who hails from the island of Tobago. Growing up in an island obsessed with football,thanks largely to former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke,who hails from there,Stewart hardly had anyone to play cricket with as a kid though he always fostered hopes of making a career out of it. I would go to the ground every day with my bat and find everybody only playing football. And the only thing possible was to keep bowling at the stumps and that was the reason I became a fast bowler, said Stewart,who made his first-class debut for T&T earlier this year. The only way out,Stewart said,was to shift base to Trinidad,where his performances would be noticed by the selectors. There have been only two cricketers from Tobago who have represented T&T and only one who has played Test cricket. Difficult as it was,I decided to move, said Stewart,who adds that music was his second love and that he is capable of playing a number of instruments including the guitar and drums. After five seasons playing league cricket in Trinidad,the fast bowler finally realised his dream when he was picked by T&T for the Stanford Super Series last year and has never looked back since. When I arrived in Trinidad I was hopeless against the hordes of spinners here and ended up with nightmares. Now when I see a spinner,I want him to pay for those bad memories. With the final just a match away now,Ganga will be hoping that his players continue to rise to the occasion and realise their collective dream,just as Stewart has managed with his.
