Despite an average performance with the bat for the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in last year’s West Indies Championship and in the recent North-South Classic, opener Jeremy Solozano is set for another great year of cricket ahead.
Solozano scored 66, four and 14 in three of last year’s five regional championship matches and then struck one run and an unbeaten 28 in North’s ten-wicket victory over South at the recent domestic trial match.
However, in June 2022, he scored an impressive 92 for the West Indies Cricket President’s XI against Bangladesh.
Although he has not always had the most impact with the bat, the 27-year-old believes that the upcoming four-day tournament will provide him with a platform to showcase his skills as a top-order batsman.
Looking back on his recent North-South performance, Solozano said,
“I didn’t really get the scores I wanted but I prefer to get them when it really matters. I put that behind me and just looking forward to getting some scores and getting some runs under my belt.”
“This year I’m going to go out there and enjoy my cricket. The result will take care of itself. I know what I want and supposed to do, and once I do those things the results will come.”
He said that the Red Force has not won this match since 2005 but the mentality of the squad is positive.
“The squad’s mentality is just positivity. I have a clear mind right now, thinking positive and looking forward to go out there and perform for the team and the nation. The energy has been there for the team and they’re all willing and looking forward to it.”
The left-hander arrived in Grenada on Saturday with his Red force teammates and coaching staff ahead of their first four-day game against the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Grenada National Stadium on Tuesday.
Speaking further, Solozano credited Red Force head coach David Furlonge’s approach.
“Training has been training a lot of hours for the past few weeks, basically, whole day. The coach gave us a lot of time out in the middle as batsmen and I think this was beneficial to me and my teammates.”
“Spending time out in the middle, that’s where you want to be. So the more you bat out there, the better you’d be in the game.”
“We just have to use our experience to go out there and score runs consistently, and play consistently in all aspects of the game. That’s what we’ve been instilling for the past couple weeks. Everyone is on the same mission.”