… Reifer arrives and gelling with team

ACCORDING to chairman of selectors within Cricket Guy Inc. Rayon Griffith, improvements within the physical aspect of the players currently undergoing preparations for the inaugural West Indies Cricket Board Professional Cricket League which bowls off next weekend, are going great.

Griffith, a former national fast bowler told Chronicle Sport in an invited comment yesterday that Barbados all-rounder Raymond Reifer, who is the lone foreign player in the Guyana Jaguars lineup, arrived in the country last Saturday and is gelling well with the players.
“I am not surprised that he is getting along fine with the players, since they would have shared a relationship whenever Guyana and Barbados would have played in previous tournaments,” said Griffith after another intense physical fitness session with the players.
Rain over the past two days prevented the management team from doing cricket-related work on the field but with the availability of the Chetram Singh Centre of Excellence indoor facility at LBI, the players underwent more rigorous core and physical fitness sessions under the eyes of Griffith, Esaun Crandon and his assistants Michael Franco-Hyles, Albert Smith and Clive Grimmond.
“For the past two days, our plans were affected by rain, something we have no control over. However, we used the indoor facility to do more core work, while coaches Hyles and Smith also passed on some knowledge of the game to the players as it relates to classroom exercise,” said Griffith.
Quizzed on the importance of classroom exercises at a time when an important competition is around the corner, Griffith said, “We feel that after the 2006 Stanford Championship winning team, a fresh breed of players were introduced to Guyana’s cricket, before the older folks were able to pass on their knowledge, so we thought it wise to introduce classroom exercises in our preparations.
“You may be puzzled at this, but the players are all eager to learn both on and off the field and with those two fine gentlemen in Albert Smith and Michael Franco-Hyles willing to impart their knowledge, pros and cons of the game to their young minds, the sessions are healthy and positive.”
He said the executives within Cricket Guy Inc. are throwing their full and unwavering support behind the plans and preparations for the team and as it stands now, with a btt more work on some players in the fitness area, the Guyana Jaguars will certainly be a force to be reckoned with when the action bowls off next Friday.
Meanwhile, the second and final practice match will be held from today at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, and will run until Friday, with Singh’s XI who won the first game by scoring 336 for 8 when given a second-innings target of 334, to record a come-fro-behind victory.
It is not certain which side Reifer will be on, since Cricket Guy Inc. had not issued a press release as it relates to the two teams for this contest, but listed below is a list of the players and their respective teams for the first practice game.
Teams read: Johnson’s XI: Leon Johnson (captain), Trevon Griffith, Rajendra Chandrika, Narsingh Deonarine, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Christopher Barnwell, Anthony Bramble (wkp.), Veerasammy Permaul, Gudakesh Motie, Paul Wintz, Keon Joseph, Kemol Savory (wkp.), Jonathan Foo, Robin Bacchus and Chanderpaul Hemraj.
Singh’s XI: Vishaul Singh (captain), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Shimron Hetmyer, Kandasammy Surujnarine, Royston Crandon, Ricardo Adams, Steven Jacobs, Kemo Paul, Amir Khan, Anthony Adams, Raun Johnson, Jeremy Gordon, Jason Sinclair (wkp.), Kevon Boodie(wkp.) and Raj Nannan.

(By Calvin Roberts)