AS VICE-captain and main all-rounder in the team, Christopher Barnwell sees himself as having a major role to play in Guyana’s line-up for this year’s West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Caribbean T20 tournament which bowls off in Trinidad on Sunday.
He can bat at the top of the order and also bowl the new ball, hence his confidence if called upon during the

upcoming weeks.
He was a member of the Guyana team which won the inaugural Caribbean T20 back in 2010 and dreams of a repeat when the tournament is played at Queen’s Park Oval and Beausejour Cricket Stadium from January 6 to 20.
“I have been in the team for a while now and I will look to step it up in this tournament. I am one of the senior players in the team, having also played for the West Indies, and so I have my role in the team – and part of that is being a leader,” said Barnwell, who celebrates his 26th birthday on Sunday’s opening day.
“We have some very good T20 players in both the batting and bowling departments. We have faith we can win again. We have faced challenges before, but that has only helped to make us stronger as a team in the end.”
Back in 2010, it took the heroics of the highly-touted Devendra Bishoo, who bowled brilliantly, and the little known Jonathan Foo who played the innings of a lifetime to blitz Barbados in the final, sparking off wild celebrations among the members of the Guyanese expatriate community who swarmed Queen’s Park Oval.
But since then, Guyana have struggled in the tournament, failing to reach the Final Four in 2011 and were again eliminated at the preliminary stage of last year’s edition, when they managed just two wins out of four matches.
However, Barnwell noted that the mood in the preparatory camp is upbeat as they look to bring the same fire and desire they had three years ago.
“When we won the first tournament, we had Travis Dowlin as the batsman batting through the innings. (Since then) we were looking forward to someone to step-up and emulate him. We were having some great starts, but no one was carrying on for us and I think that’s one of the areas we need to improve in,” said Barnwell, who has represented West Indies in four T20 Internationals.
“I think we played well in a couple of games last year but we didn’t advance. The last match against the Windward Islands was a must-win situation for us. The rains played a part in that too, but we got to play the game and it is just that the result was not what we wanted to have to book a place in the next round. This time around we will make a fresh start, take control from the start and look to go all the way.”
Last year Guyana defeated the Leeward Islands and Canada before suffering defeats to defending champions Trinidad & Tobago and the Windward Islands. This year they open their campaign against Combined Campuses & Colleges at Queen’s Park Oval on Monday at 20:00hrs (19:00hrs Jamaica Time).
The Guyanese, who leave for Trinidad this morning, had a three-week preparatory encampment period spread over the holidays, during which, ground fielding, catching, batting and bowling drills along with assimilation match exercises were carried out under coach Esaun Crandon and his team.
According to Crandon, unity and teamwork is the main focus for the inaugural champions, if they intend to claim another CT20 title.
“I want to thank the Government of Guyana, who has made the best facility in the country available for our preparation. We really enjoyed our sessions here and made full use of it on and off the field, while I saw total commitment from the guys who worked really hard throughout both phases of the encampment,” stated Crandon.
He added, “We saw the commitment, enthusiasm and the effort from the players, even those on standby. You cannot blame them with the effort, even when you look at the beep test, that speaks for itself and I want to congratulate you guys for the hard work, cooperation and commitment that you have shown.”
Quizzed on the expectations of the team, Crandon, who said he was pleased with the overall preparations, believes that on paper Guyana has a very strong team, adding that he knows the performance in the middle is what matters most on the day.
“I am happy with the preparations. The guys worked really hard, I have never seen a Guyana team work so hard before and not only did they work hard, but they supported one another throughout the encampment period, where the camaraderie was always high.
“We worked with what was available to us weather-wise, putting in some batting, bowling and fielding, along with mental and tactical stuff off the field. I am pleased with the form the team is in and once they stay focused, we will be victorious at the end of the day,” stated Crandon.
The 14-man squad reads: Veerasammy Permaul (captain), Christopher Barnwell, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Trevon Griffith, Royston Crandon, Derwin Christian, Ronsford Beaton, Devendra Bishoo, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Rajiv Ivan, Steven Jacobs, Jonathan Foo, Narsingh Deonarine and Leon Johnson, with Esuan Crandon (coach) and Alvin Johnson (manager).