Guyana to bring unique style to Champions League- Dowlin

WEST Indies player Travis Dowlin says Guyana will bring their unique brand of cricket to Airtel Champions League as they seek to leave their mark on the lucrative club Twenty20 tournament in South Africa next month.

Guyana will have large shoes to fill, following on from Trinidad and Tobago’s outstanding performance in last year’s Champions League in India.


Written off before the start of the tournament, T&T shocked the international fraternity by playing unbeaten to reach the final before losing to Australian state side New South Wales Blues.

However, Dowlin said Guyana would be looking to carve out their own niche with their distinctive style of cricket.

“As a Guyana team we want to bring our own brand of cricket. We want to create our own legacy,” the 33-year-old stressed.

“Trinidad and Tobago had a great legacy. Last year they did really well for the region, reaching the final, and everyone is expecting us to play a similar sort of game.

“In many ways we are similar to the Trinidadians in terms of the make-up of our squad, but what we want to do is to have people see us as the Guyana team playing the game in our way – workmanlike and efficient and enjoying what we do.

“We have our own style and our own way of playing and that’s what we plan to do in South Africa.”

Since their qualification, the side has been hard at work preparing for the tournament which will pit them against the likes of Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians, Highveld Lions and South Australia Redbacks.

Under coach Ravidranauth Seeram and skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan, Guyana have been doing nets sessions, fitness drills and gym workouts all week. They are expected to play several friendly matches next week to further enhance their preparation.

Dowlin said he believed the fact Guyana were an unknown quantity would be an advantage.

“We have the element of surprise. We have a number of new players – several players who have never yet played at the international level – so this can very well work in our favour,” he pointed out.

“We have some players who can hit the ball powerfully including Jonathan Foo, Christopher Barnwell, and the Crandon brothers (Royston and Esaun) and we also have myself, Sarwan and Narsingh Deonarine, who are ‘workers’ of the ball.

“The one major area we have been working hard on is our bowling at the ‘death’. We have to sharpen up in that department as that is one area that can hurt any team in this version of the game.”

Dowlin said the squad was brimming with confidence and this had been enhanced by the country’s pride in the team’s performance in the CT20.

“There are very high levels of enthusiasm in the squad. Everyone is really excited now we have this great opportunity to play in the Champions League and represent our beloved country on the international stage,” Dowlin noted.

“Everyone is full of enthusiasm. There is real expectation among the people of Guyana. Everywhere you turn, people including the taxi drives, bus drivers … just about everyone, has been congratulating us for our performance in winning the Caribbean T20 and also wishing us all the best as we prepare for South Africa.

“It feels really good to see that people here paid so much attention to our performances in the CT20. We hope to maintain that same level of intensity and commitment to the cause. We know quite clearly the entire nation is behind us when we go to South Africa.”

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