ST JOHN'S Antigua, CMC - Antigua and Barbuda's coach Ralston Otto says he is pleased with the statement his side made with their historic Red Stripe Bowl victory over defending champions Barbados at the Antigua Recreation Ground (ARG) on Sunday.
The three-wicket triumph in a tense low-scoring match, was Antigua and Barbuda's first victory over a top team in their third year in the competition.
"I feel great, as simple as that, great," Otto told CMC Sport yesterday.
"We needed some time to establish ourselves, so this victory against Barbados, the powerhouse of cricket in the region, would send a message to the region that Antigua has players capable of performing," Otto said.
Barbados, currently holders of the both regional First-Class titles plus the Limited Overs championship, were restricted to 184 all out by the home side, who recovered from an early innings stumble (29 for four), to achieve victory at 186 for seven off 46.5 overs.
Captain Sylvester Joseph (48) and Test wicketkeeper/batsman Ridley Jacobs (30) led the batting for Antigua and Barbuda, who qualified for the tournament by winning last month's NAGICO Leewards Islands One-Day Championship.
I thought the guys played well; we were able to restrict the Bajans to under 200," Otto said.
I thought our guys fielded brilliantly, we bowled fairly well and in spite of the fact that we had a little hiccup at the beginning when we lost four early wickets, we were able to regroup.
Our skipper Sylvester Joseph and Ridley Jacobs were able to stem the flow of those wickets for a while, and in the end we were able to come out victorious," Otto said.
With the victory, Antigua and Barbuda joined Guyana at the top of the Zone B standings and significantly improved their semi-final hopes.
Otto deflected questions projecting a surprise tournament win for Antigua and Barbuda, while not ruling out that possibility.
He said their main objective had been to get to the semis.
We are hoping that we will be able to qualify (for the semis). From the beginning that was our aim, to qualify, and if we qualify, that within itself would be a great feat for us.
"Hopefully we would go into the semifinals and with a little luck, plus the help of God, plus the ability of the guys, playing together as a team, hopefully we will be able to do wonders," Otto added.
The Red Stripe Bowl was on a break yesterday and resumes today with the West Indies Under-19s playing the University XI in Zone B, and the Windwards facing the Leewards XI in Zone A.