Defending Champions Barbados will need to be a lot more consistent to get past Trinidad and Tobago at Kaiser today in the second semi- final of the 2003 Red Stripe Bowl regional one-day cricket competition.

Barbados, who beat Jamaica by 32 runs in last year’s final, blew hot and cold in the Antigua zone of the competition following up a miserable defeat against the home team with a crushing victory against Guyana in the next game.

Trinidad and Tobago on the other hand has been very consistent in the Jamaica zone, with their only loss coming in their last game when the Jamaicans just squeezed past them by two runs even though both teams were already assured of semi-final places.

Barbados, with eight test players in their squad, will be hunting their fifth regional one-day title after taking back-to-back titles in 1976 and ‘77, when regional one-day cricket was first played. Their only other title apart from last year was in 1988.

Trinidad, with four test players in their side including West Indies skipper Brian Lara, has never qualified for a Red Stripe Bowl final in the seven-year history of the competition. The last of their six regional one-day titles was achieved in 1996 when a Rajindra Dhanraj hat-trick spurred them to victory over Guyana at Bourda.

Today, on what is expected to be another good track for batting, Trinidad will look towards the exciting Lara, skipper Daren Ganga, Andy Jackson, Aneil Kanhai and Dwayne Bravo to give their team a winning total. But the man to watch could again be 24 year-old Shazam Babwah, the only centurion in the Jamaica zone of the 10-team competition.

Babwah, in his second year at this level, scored a brilliant hundred against the Windward Islands and, along with fellow Trinidadian Lendl Simmons, who represented the West Indies under-19 team, have recorded the only centuries in the competition.

Mervin Dillon, fully recovered after being struck by a bolt of lightning during one of the preliminary games, will lead the ‘Trini’ bowling with pace support from Theodore Modeste or Reyad Emrit.

However, it could be the spin pair of test leg-spinner Dinanath Ramnarine and left-arm back of the hand bowler Dave Mohamed, who could pose the most problems for the Bajans.

The experienced Sherwin Campbell and Dale Richards will hope to give Barbados a solid start on the small ground and fast outfield for the strong middle-order to build on.

Floyd Reifer, Ryan Hinds, Ryan Hurley and captain Courtney Brown all have one-day-international experience under their belts, while 20-year-old Dwayne Smith, who crashed nine sixes and three fours in his unbeaten 92 against Guyana at the ARG, could set the ground ablaze if he gets going today.

Vasbert Drakes, Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards and his brother Pedro Collins have all played at the highest level while left-arm swing bowler Ian Bradshaw will lend variety to the strongest pace pack in the competition on paper.

Hurley and the towering Sulieman Benn are the spinners in what is a very strong Barbados bowling attack.

But it could be a tough day at the office for the lads from Bim if Lara, the former double World-record holder, plays one of his magical innings. The left-hander has not yet stamped his authority on the 2003 competition, but as coach Tony Gray said, “Lara is a class batsman and it is only a matter of time before he comes up with a big innings.”

The Bajans will hope that does not happen today as they attempt to deny the boys from Carnival country a place in their first-ever Red Stripe Bowl final.

The action starts at 9:35am and the umpires are Eddy Nichols and Steve Bucknor.

Teams- Barbados: C. Brown (Capt), S. Campbell, D. Richards, K. Wilkinson, R. Hinds, F. Reifer, R. Hurley, D. Smith, I. Bradshaw, V. Drakes, S. Benn, F. Edwards, C. Collimore, P. Collins, Tony Howard (Manager), Henderson Springer (Coach).

Trinidad and Tobago: D. Ganga (Capt), B. Lara, D. Bravo, A. Jackson, I. Jan, S. Babwah, A. Kanhai, G. Mohammed, D. Mohamed, M. Dillion, R. Emrit, T. Modest, D. Ramnarine, R. Sooklall, Omar Kahn (Manager), Tony Gray (Coach).