Darren Cowie will lead a Trinidad and Tobago men’s hockey squad of 18—headlined by the presence of veteran national star Kwandwane Browne—to the Pan American Cup in Canada next week.
Browne, who due to commitments with his club Canterbury in England missed T&T’s FIH World Hockey League second round campaign in Brazil—where they failed to progress after finishing fourth—makes his way back into the national team.
T&T have a number of experienced faces, including Cowie, vice-captain Dwain Quan Chan and Wayne Legerton, and a number of other key players—such as Kiel Murray, Akim Toussaint and Aidan De Gannes to complete a strong line up.
Andrey Rocke and Kwasi Emmanuel are the goalkeepers given the nod by coach Glenn “Fido” Francis.
The tournament will be held from August 10-17 in Brampton, Ontario, and the winners will qualify for the 2014 Men’s Hockey World Cup in The Hague, Netherlands.
The top six teams will also progress to the 2017 Men’s Pan American Cup. The seventh and eighth place teams will be demoted to the 2015 Men’s Pan American Challenge.
Trinidad and Tobago are in Pool B of the competition, and will face stiff competition against Brazil, Chile and Canada in the Group stage. Pool A comprises powerhouses Argentina, as well as USA, Uruguay and Mexico.
Currently, T&T are ranked 30th in the world amongst 78 hockey playing nations, with their round one World League triumph at home late last year seeing them move up from 36th.
T&T SQUAD:
Andrey Rocke (gk), Kwasi Emmanuel (gk), Darren Cowie (captain), Dwain Quan Chan (vice captain), Aidan De Gannes, Shaquille Daniel, Michael II Otis O’Connor, Kwan Browne, Dillet Gilkes, Stefan Mouttet, Marcus James, Solomon Eccles, Christopher Scipio, Akim Toussaint, Mickell Pierre, Wayne Legerton, Kiel Murray, Cogie Butler; Glenn Francis (coach), Kirth Davis (manager); Zynul Khan (team doctor), Karielle de Bique (physiotherapist), Nicholas Baldeosingh (videographer).