NEWLY appointed senior cricket coach Mark Harper feels Guyana can produce far better results that they did in the last three years in the WICB Regional first-class championship. The 53-year-old Harper replaces fellow former national player Ravindranauth Seeram as national coach ahead of the opening match against three-time defending champions Jamaica, next Friday at the Alpart Sports Club.
Seeram was fired following Guyana’s failed bid to retain the Caribbean Twenty20 Championship staged in Antigua and Barbados.
“We have talented players, but they are areas that they need to improve on, and we had a look at Guyana performance over the last three years, and tried to see where we went wrong,” said Harper.
Harper, a former Bermuda coach, disclosed that he had plans to work on specific areas before the team departs for Jamaica early next week.
“During our preparations, we will be looking at areas such as playing fast bowling, and we are using a bowling machine to help in this regard,” he said.
“We will be also working on the player’s ability to perform in pressure situations.”
He added: “The bowlers will be working on their line and length and concentration while the batsmen will be practising running between the wickets and batting against the bowling machine.”
Harper, the brother of former Guyana captain and West Indies off-spinner Roger Harper, expects his new job to be challenging considering he has just one week to prepare the side.
But he believes the honour of giving back to his homeland far outweighed any other consideration.
“I have the experience, desire, and technical know-how to be effective at this time when a lot of things off the field are affecting things on the field, and I hope I can make a positive difference to Guyana’s cricket,” he said.
Guyana finished second-to-last in the seven-team competition ahead of Windward Islands.