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HAVING seen his charges scrape past the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) in their first match of this year’s West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Caribbean T20 tournament by two wickets, at the Queen’s Park Oval, Monday night, coach Esaun Crandon is looking for an improved performance against Barbados whom they face at the same venue from 20:00hrs tonight.The Veerasammy Permaul-led Guyana team had two training sessions at the Queen’s Park Oval and National Cricket Centre , following their enthralling first match result, which saw Permaul and Devendra Bishoo gather the 13 runs needed for victory after the final delivery of the contest. Permaul had pulled the previous delivery (a free hit from Jason Holder) over backward square for six.
The Barbadians are leading the points table with 8 points and a net run rate of +4.206, in comparison to the Guyanese who have 4 points and net run rate of +0.050, which places them in third position behind hosts Trinidad and Tobago who have five points and net run rate of +0.954.
However, with the new format that is being introduced by the WICB for this tournament, the final one of its kind following the launching of the WICB Caribbean Premier League, the team that tops the points table will gain an automatic place in the final, leaving the second- and third-placed finishers to contest a playoff for the final spot, a fact that is well known by Crandon.
The last time these two met in a CT20 match, it was the final of the inaugural tournament in 2010, in which Guyana came away victorious by one wicket to lift the trophy at the same venue for tonight’s contest, after their preliminary round encounter was abandoned.
In an invited comment with Chronicle Sport after the session at the indoor nets of the Queen’s Park Oval, the 31-year-old Crandon, who was a member of that victorious unit, believes they can get past the Barbadians tonight, even though they are on a high with two convincing victories so far.
“I am really happy with the victory in the first game. Obviously it was tense and thrilling at the end, but eventually we got over the hurdle.”
“I think it was a well organised game by us, but there are a lot of things we need to go back to the drawing board and get right, especially our fielding and bowling in the depth, since we lacked penetration against CCC in that area,” said Crandon.
There is no doubt about such comments, as Trinidad and Tobago blew away the CCC’s batting lineup for 93, while against Guyana, the students scored 159 for 3, thanks to Chadwick Walton’s unbeaten 99 which included 28 off the final over bowled by Permaul.
Reflecting on his team’s batting in the first contest, Crandon believes that both Narsingh Deonarine and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, two West Indies middle order batsmen did well for the team, but expressed sorrow that the big hitters did not come off.
“Narsingh and Shiv batted well for us in the middle to stabilise things. Unfortunately, the big hitters in Foo (Jonathan), Crandon (Royston) and Christian (Derwin) did not get a go. But it was a good sign for us, for even though our big hitters did not come off, the batsmen successfully chased down 160.
That department has been our strength over the years, as we always back ourselves to chase down big totals. Obviously we don’t wish to finish every game in the same manner as the first, as we need to record more convincing victories so certainly we will be working on that and other things, as the days go by in the tournament, since our aim is to lift this title once again.”
For tonight’s game, the elder Crandon would be hoping that the confidence in the team, which has risen to another high following the victory in the first match, would boil over to tonight’s game against a confident Barbados lineup.
“The guys are feeling confident following the win Monday night and we know that Barbados would be confident too, since they got two victories so far but once we go out there and play positive cricket, sticking to the basic things we will come out victorious over them,” posited Crandon.
On paper, both sides have a wealth of talent, boasting several players who have represented the West Indies at various levels, with Permaul being the latest Test player for the West Indies on show during the contest and tournament.
The Guyanese batting lineup can also match that of their opponents for tonight, with Trevon Griffith, Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Narsingh Deonarine, Royston Crandon, Jonathan Foo, Derwin Christian and Christopher Barnwell all being capable of destroying any bowling attack in the Caribbean on their day.
Both Permaul and Bishoo have shown to the critics (whoever they may be), they are no rabbits with the bat, with Permaul performing the last rites in Monday night’s game, while it was Bishoo who did so, when Guyana defeated Barbados three years ago to lift the title.
The other member from Monday night’s winning team, Ronsford Beaton, can also handle himself with the bat and should Crandon and the team’s manager Alvin Johnson seek to make any changes from that lineup for tonight, Steven Jacobs, Rajiv Ivan and Leon Johnson are also worthy replacements.
The Guyanese have a spin-based bowling attack, led by Bishoo, Permaul, Deonarine and Royston Crandon, who will take charge of things after Beaton and Barnwell take the sheen off the new ball, but with Barbados being known to be susceptible to spin bowling, Jacobs, Ivan or Johnson may get the opportunity to play tonight, leaving Beaton out of the reckoning as either one of them adds variety to the spin department.
Tino Best and Carlos Brathwaite have been in form with the ball for Barbados, backed by skipper Dwayne Smith and left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn and a fit-looking Ryan Hinds, with Ashley Nurse offering tremendous support, and Hinds and Carlos Brathwaite sharing seven wickets in the win over Jamaica, Tuesday night.
Smith, Justin Brathwaite, Hinds, Jonathan Carter, Shane Dowrich, Shamarh Brooks, Kyle Mayers and Benn are worthy customers with the bat, while Best, who has the best score for a number 10 batsman in Test cricket, can chip in.
With the above-mentioned information, tonight’s encounter between the two sides – one, former champions and the other powerful bastions in regional cricket – promises to be an exciting one for cricket-lovers in the Caribbean.
The final XI for both sides will come from, Guyana: Veerasammy Permaul, Christopher Barnwell, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Trevon Griffith, Narsingh Deonarine, Royston Crandon, Steven Jacobs, Derwin Christian, Jonathan Foo, Rajiv Ivan, Leon Johnson, Devendra Bishoo and Ronsford Beaton.
Barbados: Dwayne Smith, Sulieman Benn, Tino Best, Carlos Brathwaite, Justin Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks, Jonathan Carter, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich, Fidel Edwards, Ryan Hinds, Kyle Mayers, Ashley Nurse and Javon Searles.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Peter Nero and Jamaica’s Verdayne Smith are the umpires, with Hayden Bruce executing the duties of match referee for this contest.
The Barbadians are leading the points table with 8 points and a net run rate of +4.206, in comparison to the Guyanese who have 4 points and net run rate of +0.050, which places them in third position behind hosts Trinidad and Tobago who have five points and net run rate of +0.954.
However, with the new format that is being introduced by the WICB for this tournament, the final one of its kind following the launching of the WICB Caribbean Premier League, the team that tops the points table will gain an automatic place in the final, leaving the second- and third-placed finishers to contest a playoff for the final spot, a fact that is well known by Crandon.
The last time these two met in a CT20 match, it was the final of the inaugural tournament in 2010, in which Guyana came away victorious by one wicket to lift the trophy at the same venue for tonight’s contest, after their preliminary round encounter was abandoned.
In an invited comment with Chronicle Sport after the session at the indoor nets of the Queen’s Park Oval, the 31-year-old Crandon, who was a member of that victorious unit, believes they can get past the Barbadians tonight, even though they are on a high with two convincing victories so far.
“I am really happy with the victory in the first game. Obviously it was tense and thrilling at the end, but eventually we got over the hurdle.”
“I think it was a well organised game by us, but there are a lot of things we need to go back to the drawing board and get right, especially our fielding and bowling in the depth, since we lacked penetration against CCC in that area,” said Crandon.
There is no doubt about such comments, as Trinidad and Tobago blew away the CCC’s batting lineup for 93, while against Guyana, the students scored 159 for 3, thanks to Chadwick Walton’s unbeaten 99 which included 28 off the final over bowled by Permaul.
Reflecting on his team’s batting in the first contest, Crandon believes that both Narsingh Deonarine and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, two West Indies middle order batsmen did well for the team, but expressed sorrow that the big hitters did not come off.
“Narsingh and Shiv batted well for us in the middle to stabilise things. Unfortunately, the big hitters in Foo (Jonathan), Crandon (Royston) and Christian (Derwin) did not get a go. But it was a good sign for us, for even though our big hitters did not come off, the batsmen successfully chased down 160.
That department has been our strength over the years, as we always back ourselves to chase down big totals. Obviously we don’t wish to finish every game in the same manner as the first, as we need to record more convincing victories so certainly we will be working on that and other things, as the days go by in the tournament, since our aim is to lift this title once again.”
For tonight’s game, the elder Crandon would be hoping that the confidence in the team, which has risen to another high following the victory in the first match, would boil over to tonight’s game against a confident Barbados lineup.
“The guys are feeling confident following the win Monday night and we know that Barbados would be confident too, since they got two victories so far but once we go out there and play positive cricket, sticking to the basic things we will come out victorious over them,” posited Crandon.
On paper, both sides have a wealth of talent, boasting several players who have represented the West Indies at various levels, with Permaul being the latest Test player for the West Indies on show during the contest and tournament.
The Guyanese batting lineup can also match that of their opponents for tonight, with Trevon Griffith, Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Narsingh Deonarine, Royston Crandon, Jonathan Foo, Derwin Christian and Christopher Barnwell all being capable of destroying any bowling attack in the Caribbean on their day.
Both Permaul and Bishoo have shown to the critics (whoever they may be), they are no rabbits with the bat, with Permaul performing the last rites in Monday night’s game, while it was Bishoo who did so, when Guyana defeated Barbados three years ago to lift the title.
The other member from Monday night’s winning team, Ronsford Beaton, can also handle himself with the bat and should Crandon and the team’s manager Alvin Johnson seek to make any changes from that lineup for tonight, Steven Jacobs, Rajiv Ivan and Leon Johnson are also worthy replacements.
The Guyanese have a spin-based bowling attack, led by Bishoo, Permaul, Deonarine and Royston Crandon, who will take charge of things after Beaton and Barnwell take the sheen off the new ball, but with Barbados being known to be susceptible to spin bowling, Jacobs, Ivan or Johnson may get the opportunity to play tonight, leaving Beaton out of the reckoning as either one of them adds variety to the spin department.
Tino Best and Carlos Brathwaite have been in form with the ball for Barbados, backed by skipper Dwayne Smith and left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn and a fit-looking Ryan Hinds, with Ashley Nurse offering tremendous support, and Hinds and Carlos Brathwaite sharing seven wickets in the win over Jamaica, Tuesday night.
Smith, Justin Brathwaite, Hinds, Jonathan Carter, Shane Dowrich, Shamarh Brooks, Kyle Mayers and Benn are worthy customers with the bat, while Best, who has the best score for a number 10 batsman in Test cricket, can chip in.
With the above-mentioned information, tonight’s encounter between the two sides – one, former champions and the other powerful bastions in regional cricket – promises to be an exciting one for cricket-lovers in the Caribbean.
The final XI for both sides will come from, Guyana: Veerasammy Permaul, Christopher Barnwell, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Trevon Griffith, Narsingh Deonarine, Royston Crandon, Steven Jacobs, Derwin Christian, Jonathan Foo, Rajiv Ivan, Leon Johnson, Devendra Bishoo and Ronsford Beaton.
Barbados: Dwayne Smith, Sulieman Benn, Tino Best, Carlos Brathwaite, Justin Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks, Jonathan Carter, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich, Fidel Edwards, Ryan Hinds, Kyle Mayers, Ashley Nurse and Javon Searles.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Peter Nero and Jamaica’s Verdayne Smith are the umpires, with Hayden Bruce executing the duties of match referee for this contest.
