GUYANA’S senior national cricket team, known as the ‘Amazon Conquerors’, left these shores yesterday midday for Antigua where they will compete in the first leg of this year’s West Indies Cricket Board Caribbean T20 tournament which bowls off tomorrow. President of the embattled Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Ramsay Ali yesterday charged the Christopher Barnwell-led squad to go and do their best, making all of Guyana proud despite the situation they were forced to undergo prior to their departure.
“Despite the trying times you were forced to go through prior to your departure, today we were able to get you back into the tournament and I know that you have the capability to go out there and perform to the best of your ability, so I am urging you to do so and make all of Guyana proud.”
Highlighting the fact that the players were not given much preparation following the festive season, Ali said arrangements have been made for the Amazon Conquerors to have some practice matches before they play their second game against Trinidad and Tobago on Friday.
“You will be playing your first game on Monday (against Leeward Islands) and there will be a long break before you play your second match. With that in mind, I have spoken to the management team with regard to some practice games, to get you in a more positive frame of mind for the tournament, and with that I wish you best of luck and God bless you all,” stated Ali.
Guyana won the 2006 Stanford 20/20 tournament, the first of its kind in that form of the game, under the astute leadership of Ramnaresh Sarwan, while they also took the first Caribbean T20 tournament two years ago, when they defeated Barbados in the final, with Sarwan being at the helm.
This time around, there is no Sarwan, Lennox Cush, Mahendra Nagamootoo, Andre Percival, Dion Ferrier or even Imran Khan, but Barnwell believes that with players of the calibre of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Royston Crandon, Dillon Heyliger and Steven Jacobs, Guyana can achieve glory.
He also made mention of Narsingh Deonarine, the left-handed batsman who struck the winning boundary when Guyana won the 2006 tournament, along with Leon Johnson, the hard-hitting West Indies T20 wicketkeeper/batsman Derwin Christian and Rajiv Ivan, who on their day, can be match winners for the team.
After taking on the Leeward Islands and Trinidad and Tobago in Antigua, the Guyana team will head to the Island of the Flying Fish where they will face Canada on Tuesday 17th, and Windward Islands two days later at the Kensington Oval.
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).