SENIOR CHAIRMAN of Selectors within the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Rayon Griffith and appointed head coach of the Cricket Guy Inc. (CGI) Esuan Crandon yesterday selected the final five players which will comprise the Guyana franchise team for the upcoming West Indies Cricket Board’s (WICB) Professional Cricket League (PCL).

Having retained 10 players prior to the draft which took place yesterday at the Accra Hotel, Christ Church, Barbados, the duo selected Barbados’ Raymon Reifer along with Rajendra Chandrika, Keon Joseph, Paul Wintz and Vishaul Singh to comprise their 15 man squad.
However, while Crandon and Griffith bypassed former Guyana and West Indies skipper and middle order batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan, the Trinidad and Tobago franchise now known as the Red Force, snapped up the right hander in their second round pick.
The 34 year old Sarwan who has played 87 Test matches and scored 5842 runs at an average of 40.01 with a highest score of 291 against England, has not played much cricket for Guyana, since he compete in this year’s NAGICO Super50 semifinal matchup against Barbados, a game in which he failed to score as the Guyanese went down to the eventual champions by seven wickets.
Since then, he has been campaigning in England with Leicestershire, whom he last represented at the first class level in June of this year against Worcestershire, who won the four day contest by 234 runs, with Sarwan’s contribution being 46 and 0.
The 23 year old Reifer, who ha splayed 23 first class matches for his native Barbados and the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC), scoring 959 runs at an average of 22.30, with a highest score of 89, while with his left arm medium fast bowling, he has taken 31 wickets at an average of 22.25.
He made his debut for CCC against the Windward Islands at the 3W’s Oval, Cave Hill Barbados in the WICB 2010/2011 first class season, wherein he had scores of 9 and 44 in the game which was won by the University Students by 33 runs inside three days.
Reifer was a member of the Barbados Tridents team which competed in the recently concluded Champions League T20 tournament, topscoring with a 42 balls unbeaten 60 (3×4, 4×6) in their fifth match against Kings XI Punjab, a game the Tridents lost by four wickets.
The 25year old Chandrika has played 22 first class matches for Guyana, since making his debut in the 2010 season against Trinidad and Tobago, scoring a total of 898 runs at an average of 21.90, with two half centuries.
He last represented Guyana last year against Jamaica, where he had scores of 0 and 5, but is coming off a splendid GCB Inter-county season, where he aggregated 402 runs with a highest score of 217, walking away with the best batsman and Most Valuable Player awards.
There is no doubt when it comes to the talent of Singh who, along with Sarwan and Guyana’s latest Test player Leon Johnson, plays for the Caribbean’s oldest cricket club, the Shivnarine Chanderpaul Drive based Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC).
His run at the first class level for Guyana has been a limited one in comparison to some other players who were given long extended runs without much production, since he is averaging 17.16 from his 13 first class matches in which he has scored 412 runs with a highest score of 73 coming against Jamaica this year.
He got some runs including 150 odd in the just concluded Inter-county tournament, in which he captained Demerara to the sole ownership of the four day trophy, after they lost the limited overs title to Berbice a few weeks ago.
He has now been given another chance to prove his worth in more ways than one, the same can be said for Joseph, the West Berbice fast bowler, who along with Raun Johnson (not-selected) forms the best new ball pair in Guyana.
The 22 year old Joseph, who will be celebrating his 23rd birthday a day after the Guyana franchise plays its second round game, has been a huge under-performer at the first class level, following an impressive Under-19 sojourn, wherein he was dubbed the fastest youth bowler in the West Indies.
He has been limited to nine first class matches since making his debut in 2010, during which time he has taken 21 wickets at an average of 31.09, with a best of 4 for 53 against the Leeward Islands in Antigua earlier this year, figures which by far belittles his ability as a fast bowler.
When Ronsford Beaton was injured before the start of last year’s inaugural Limacol Caribbean Premier League, it was Joseph, who was seen as the best replacement bowler, even though he did not play any of the games, which further underlines his ability as a fast bowler.
He needs to improve in his wicket taking ability and with the PCL being used as a means of developing the players both fundamentally and financially, then one can certainly look forward to seeing Joseph returning back to his Under-19 days and probably knocking on the door of a West Indies call.
DRAFT PICKS:
GUYANA: Raymon Reifer, Rajendra Chandrika, Keon Joseph, Paul Wintz, Vishal Singh
LEEWARDS: Anthony Martin, Gavin Tonge, Rahkeem Cornwall, Jacques Taylor, Lyndel Richardson
JAMAICA: Andre McCarthy, Shacaya Thomas, Horace Miller, Brandon King, Brian Buchanan
WINDWARD ISLANDS Volcanoes : Mervyn Matthew, Nelon Pascal, Lyndon James, Dalton Polius, Romel Currency
Trinidad & Tobago Red Force: Akeal Hosein, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Yannick Ottley, Jeremy Solozano, Brian Charles
BARBADOS: Tino Best; Shai Hope; Kenroy Williams; Ryan Hinds; Roston Chase.