GUYANA’S T20 players who were selected to compete in next year’s West Indies Cricket Board’s (WICB)-organised and sponsored Caribbean T20 competition, yesterday commenced their encampment period at the Chetram Singh Centre of Excellence, LBI< East Coast Demerara.

In an invited comment with Chronicle Sport, coach of the team Esaun Crandon said he was pleased with the composition of the unit, adding that the management team has already put in place, plans for the encampment process.
“First of all, I think it’s a well-balanced team, with experience and young guns involved as well,” posited Crandon, a former national fast bowler and member of Guyana’s winning team which took the inaugural 2006 Stanford 20/20 championship.
“In terms of our preparation, we are looking forward to doing a lot of specifics in our net sessions, looking at the three basic things which are bowling, batting and fielding, as we try to get the best out of the guys in the camp.
“We are also looking to have them remain focused as they head into the tournament, while asking them to understand their roles and responsibilities and at the same time showing 100% commitment in the camp and even throughout the tournament, as we seek to achieve our goal that is being set out, and that is win the championship,” stated Crandon.
Looking at the recent weather conditions that have been prevailing over Guyana, the 30-year-old Crandon said the management team has a contingency plan in place, if the rains come during their encampment period, citing the indoor nets as an alternative for their programme.
He believes the inclusion of discarded West Indies middle-order batsman and former national captain Ramnaresh Sarwan and the hard-hitting Jonathan Foo – two players who were not included in Guyana’s team for this year’s tournament – is a plus this time around.
“Sars (Sarwan) and Foo will really boost the team up this time around. We all know their talent and ability, coupled with Sars’ experience having played a lot of One-day and Test matches and at the same time being a successful leader for Guyana.
“We know he is a quality player as well and we are looking forward to him coming good for us in this tournament. While Foo did not make the team for the last tournament, we are looking forward to his hard-hitting ability and his addition to the squad will certainly boost it up.”
Crandon said they will be hitting their preparatory programme hard this time around, commencing with a fitness session at the Everest ground from 07:00hrs today, followed by a net session at the same venue six hours later.
“In our quest for championship honours, we don’t wish to leave any stone unturned. We have a packed itinerary for the guys during their period of encampment, which also includes game simulation exercises and a couple of practice matches, once the weather permits.”
The full 14-man squad reads: Veerasammy Permaul (captain), Trevon Griffith, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Leon Johnson, Narsingh Deonarine, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Christopher Barnwell (vice-captain), Royston Crandon, Steven Jacobs, Derwin Christian, Jonathan Foo, Devendra Bishoo, Ronsford Beaton and Rajiv Ivan, with Alvin Johnson performing the duties of manager and Esaun Crandon as coach.