INJURY OR ailment has time and again floored Dale Richards, omitting him from Barbados duties and a similar situation confronts the island's most consistent opening batsman here today.

An asthma attack on the eve of Barbados' Stanford 20/20 semifinal showdown with Trinidad and Tobago seems almost certain to prevent the 31-year-old strokemaker from suiting up for the 7:15 p.m. clash.

After the onset of the attack in the morning, Richards was too weak to walk and had to be taken by ambulance to a St John's hospital for treatment.

If he is unable to play, it will be the fifth time in eight years that either injury or illness has forced him out of the Barbados team. The last occasion was also for a major match when a finger injury ruled him out of the KFC Cup final against Guyana at Bourda in 2005.

In spite of two failures in the matches on the way to the semi-final, the loss of Richards would be a big setback to Barbados' plans. He is the senior opening batsman in the 13-man squad and his ability to score quickly is well known.

Barbados were still in an upbeat mood yesterday in the build-up to a contest against a team that has beaten them regularly in recent years.

Eight times in the last ten meetings at various levels since 2004, Trinidad and Tobago have beaten Barbados, but as far as captain Dwayne Smith was concerned, it is history and counts for nothing.

"We're looking past that. You can't worry about those things. We need to put ourselves in a position where it is an open game," he said.

"We start 0-0 and take it from there. We just have to go out there and do well."

On the evidence of what both teams have produced, most observers have installed Trinidad and Tobago to advance and duplicate the result of the quarter-final match between the two teams in the inaugural tournament two years ago.

Barbados therefore will have to come better than they did against Dominica and Grenada, especially with the bat.

"It is going to take a lot of heart. The guys have to play out of their skins. We have to bring our best game," Smith said.

"It is no time to relax. You can't make any mistakes. You've got to be on the ball from the start of the game."

There were two common denominators in Barbados' first two matches.

On each occasion, they played on the pitch which is the most eastern on the square and it offered something for the spinners.

On each occasion, Barbados also batted first and successfully defended totals. This time around, there is no preference for either.

"It doesn't matter what wicket we play on. Barbados is here to win and that is what we've come here to do," Smith said.

"It doesn't matter when we bat. It's just that whatever we do, we have to do it good from the start. If we bowl first, we have to get into the lower order."

It is definitely a different pitch with the strip at the western side in use.

Fans can also look for some changes to the batting order. If Richards is available, uncapped teenager Rashidi Boucher is likely to take his place at the top of the order, but any number can play.

"Our batting is flexible. We're floating. Anybody can do whatever," Smith said.

"It doesn't matter. All the guys are up for it. Anyone can bat in any position at any time."