… team leaves this morning
FINALLY, the Guyana national cricket team will compete in the upcoming West Indies Cricket Board (WICB)-organised Caribbean T20 tournament which bowls off in Antigua on Monday, before taking on defending champions Trinidad and Tobago in another day/night encounter next Friday. According to Secretary of the embattled Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), the Christopher Barnwell-led 14-man squad will leave these shores this morning for Antigua where they will oppose the Leeward Islands in a day/night fixture on the opening day of the tournament.
“We are pleased to announce that we have successfully obtained all the necessary assistance and the resources of the WICB, which was made available to those seeking a solution to the difficult situation in which the GCB and its players were embroiled,” said Sanasie.
The WICB Director told the media present at the Georgetown Cricket Club pavilion yesterday afternoon, that the GCB’s request for logistical and administrative help was welcomed by the Chief Executive Officer of the WICB, whose flexibility and assistance made Guyana’s participation possible once again.
In an invited comment, Barnwell said his team is ready to hit the ground running hard in Antigua, despite the setbacks they encountered during their preparation period, adding that they always wanted to play as a team.
“We had a very good start to our training for this tournament, with the players gelling well as a team and eager to go out there and showcase their talent as well, despite the setbacks we have faced over the past 72 hours,” assured Barnwell.
Asked if they ever felt as if Guyana would not be competing as a team, the West Indies T20 all-rounder said, “A few of the players were selected on the West Indies ‘B’ team to compete in the tournament, but throughout our preparation, we were doing so as a team representing Guyana and wanted it to stay that way and as fate would have it, we are going as a team to represent Guyana.”
Sadly, the appointed Assistant Coach David Harper will not be able to make the trip, since his mom is seriously ill and he will be replaced by Senior Chairman of Selectors Rayon Griffith, who is also a certified coach and has been working with the team during their two weeks of preparation prior to the festive season.
The winners of the WICB Caribbean T20 tournament will take home US$62 500, with the second-placed team carting off US$25 000 and the third- and fourth-place finishers US$12 500 and US$10 000 respectively.
Additionally, the losing semifinalists will be rewarded while the Star-of-the-Match in each match will get US$500 as well as a custom-designed plaque.
The full squad with officials reads: Christopher Barnwell (captain), Trevon Griffith, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Leon Johnson, Royston Crandon, Derwin Christian, Steven Jacobs, Veerasammy Permaul, Devendra Bishoo, Dillon Heyliger, Rajiv Ivan and Ronsford Beaton. The officials are David Black (manager), Ravindranauth Seeram (coach), Rayon Griffith (assistant coach) and Robin Singh (video analyst).