DISCARDED West Indies middle-order batsman Narsingh Deonarine is back from injury and immediately found favour with the senior selection panel on his return for Guyana’s upcoming game against the English ‘A’ team also known as the England Lions.
But while Deonarine has been included in the 13-man squad along with Zaheer Mohammed who replaces Devendra Bishoo, there is no place for all-rounder Christopher Barnwell , and medium fast bowler Esaun Crandon, who both played against Barbados in the last round of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional four-day tournament.
In an invited comment with Chronicle Sport during his team’s assimilation match exercise at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground, coach Mark Harper said it was good to have Deonarine back in the squad, especially with the brittle middle order of the team.
“It is always good to have any quality player back. We welcome back Narsingh, while at the same time we would want to make sure he is in good physical condition.
He produced a medical certificate from a doctor in Berbice and was checked by the team’s physiotherapist and will undergo a physical fitness test later in the week.
But I must say that he looked good in the middle even though he came out of the USA where it’s not their cricket season and I am hoping that he can produce the form of two seasons ago, towards the benefit of the team,” stated Harper.
Harper was referring to Deonarine’s 2009 season where the left-handed batsman became the first batsman to score 1 000 runs in a WICB four-day season.
Harper believes Guyana have the talent, especially in the batting department which has been the low key of the team to date in the tournament, since the record shows they took first innings points from defending champions Jamaica, but lost the match outright.
The loss to Windward Islands in the third round after their second round game against the Leeward Islands was washed out without a ball being bowled, before rebounding to take first innings points from Barbados in the fourth round at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, two weeks ago.
“We have the talent and we showed some batting improvements in the first innings of our last game, but what we need to do is build on starts and hope that once the batsmen get in, they can build on those starts and with Narsingh back in the middle order, I am hoping the junior players will rally around him, while at the same time he can guide them along.
Apart from that, I am also hoping we continue to bowl and field well as that have been our strong points in this year’s tournament and even though we will be without the services of leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo, his absence leaves room for another player to step up,” said Harper.
He continued, “Some may look at Bishoo’s absence as a big blow to our plans and yes it may be so, as he is the leading spinner in our team, but I view it as a perfect opportunity for another player from Guyana to step to the fore and find a place in the West Indies team also.
Guyana have 13 points and are in sixth position and will take on the Lions from Friday at the Guyana National Stadium, with the final 11 for the match being chosen from: Assad Fudadin (captain), Narsingh Deonarine, Rajendra Chandrika, Derwin Christian, Zaheer Mohammed, Vishal Singh, Royston Crandon, Leon Johnson, Gajanand Singh, Steven Jacobs, Veerasammy Permaul, Ronsford Beaton and Brandon Bess.