Hot T&T end year on a high

Trinidad & Tobago's 81-run win over Guyana in the President's Cup final confirmed them as the team to beat in West Indies' domestic limited-overs competitions. They impressed by reaching the final of the recent Champions League Twenty20 in India, where they were beaten in the decider by New South Wales.

For the victorious captain, Daren Ganga, it was great to finish 2009 on a high. "As players we feel very happy being given the opportunity to represent our country and we also feel very fortunate to have won another title,' he said after the squad returned from Guyana. "We set ourselves this goal [defending their regional 50-overs title] even before we left India. We knew we would have to transition in quick time and we knew we were defending champions."

T&T returned home from India last week after a stunning run during the Champions League. They not only won Indian hearts with their distinctive brand of cricket but also brought alive the tournament which at its halfway stage was flickering once the hopes of the IPL teams had been extinguished. The team brought the crowds to their feet with the flair that was once a hallmark of Caribbean cricket, rising to the occasion when not many gave them a chance.

"We had a lot to prove and there was some talk before that monetary incentives behind the games is what drives players, but what I can assure you is that this Trinidad and Tobago team is much more than that," said a proud Ganga. "We focus on being the best team we can be and we focus on being best individuals we can be."

Four players from the squad have returned to the West Indies fold for the upcoming tour of Australia and Ganga was pleased at their contributions. "Ravi Rampaul, Adrian Barath, Denesh Ramdin and Dwayne Bravo ... I think these guys have performed very well for Trinidad and Tobago and I am sure they are going to do us proud in Australia," he said.