DESPITE inadequate turf practice, head coach of the Guyana Amazon Warriors is confident the team is in good shape for this year’s Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL).Hooper’s comments came following the conclusion of the one-week training camp, which was affected tremendously by the rainy weather.
“I’m fairly confident: we’ve prepared well, and we should do well. The rain interfered a lot. I think the important thing was to get a hit out on Monday, and while it wasn’t the desired result, what it did was to give some key players like Brad Hodge a chance to play at this venue for the first time, and we’ve got four games in six days here so I think that was important and critical,” Hooper said on Tuesday evening.
However, the former Guyana and West Indies captain pointed out that rotation of the strike was a major concern during the lone practice game, something he has addressed with the players.
He continued, “They’re professionals and let it be known that we can’t hope to do well in the competition and (be) batting in that manner. We probably just got to show a little bit more intent. I’m positive we’ll rectify it.”
One of the positives Hooper mentioned was the progress of the fast bowlers, Ronsford Beaton and Paul Wintz, who both played on the Guyana Select XI side in a deliberate attempt to get them to be proactive,” Hooper explained.
Meanwhile, Team Operations Manager Omar Khan confirmed that Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga is out of the tournament with an injury.
South African speedster Merchant De Lange has been named as Malinga’s replacement and will feature from the start of the competition.
Sri Lankan all-rounders Tillekaratne Dilshan and Thisara Perera will be available for the first four games.
South African, all-rounder David Wiese, and the flamboyant Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal will come in for Dilshan and Perera, when they depart the Caribbean for international duty on July 5.
The South America-based franchise finished runner-up in the first two seasons, losing to the Jamaica Tallawahs in 2013 and the Barbados Tridents last year.
The Warriors departed these shores yesterday for Barbados for their first game against the host franchise and defending champions Barbados Tridents this Saturday.
The local players named in the Warriors line-up are: Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Assad Fudadin, Devendra Bishoo, Veerasammy Permaul, Christopher Barnwell, Ronsford Beaton, Trevon Griffith and Paul Wintz, while Denesh Ramdin, Sunil Narine and Lendl Simmons are the regional players.
Guyana will host four games between July 15 and 21. Guyana Amazon Warriors will feature in all four matches, as the organisers have opted to give each franchise four home games.
On July 15, Guyana Amazon Warriors will play 2013 champions Jamaica Tallawahs at 18:00hrs; on July 17. They will come up against St Lucia Zouks at 20:00hrs; on July 18 they take on defending champions Barbados Tridents at 16:00hrs; and on July 21 they will face Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel from 18:00hrs.
Unlike previous years when Guyana hosted matches earlier in the tournament, the South American nation will now stage the final round before the two eliminators and grand final in Trinidad and Tobago.
The other franchises set to compete in the June 20 to July 26 showpiece are reigning champions Barbados Tridents, Jamaica Tallawahs, St Lucia Zouks, St Kitts & Nevis Patriots and Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel.