PRESIDENT of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Drubahadur yesterday urged the national cricket team to give of their best in the upcoming Regional NAGICO Super50 competition and in the process, make the country proud.Under the leadership of West Indies player Leon Johnson, the Jaguars were greeted by Drubahadur during a simple send-off ceremony at the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) office on Regent Street, yesterday afternoon.
“We need to cross that final hurdle, stay focused, stay together and make Guyana proud. I urge you to put your best foot forward as you execute your duties out there, Drubahadur said shortly before the team departed for St Kitts.
Drubahadur congratulated the new faces, and at the same time wished the team well, noting that he has high hopes for the group of players assembled to represent the country.
The GCB boss said he was confident in the players’’ ability and was banking on them to walk away with championship honours.
Meanwhile, Johnson expressed confidence the team will do well, adding that they will continue to represent the Golden Arrowhead with distinction.
Head coach Esaun Crandon in an invited comment acknowledged that once the team stick to the game plan and execute them well, he is confident that Guyana will do well.
“We fancy our chances, we have a very good team, and with the added momentum from the Four-day success, I am confident the guys will deliver,” Crandon a former national all-rounder, who played 38 First-class matches for Guyana, said.
Commenting on the squad selected, Chairman of Selectors Rayon Griffith stated, “When you select a team, it’s all about the make-up of the team, the balance and the roles each player will play, and as I said, the 14 we selected they have their roles to play.”
Guyana have not won a Regional One-Day title in nine years. Their last of nine titles was during the 2005-06 season when they defeated Barbados by seven runs under the Duckworth/Lewis method.
The NAGICO Super50 tournament opens on January 7, and the Jaguars will play the Windward Islands Volcanoes in their opening encounter.
The preliminary competition will be played under a non-elimination format with the eight teams equally divided into two groups. Each side will play six matches apiece during the preliminary rounds, with each playing the others in their group twice.
They will then play Leeward Islands Hurricanes on January 9; CCC Marooners on January 11; Windward Islands Volcanoes on January 13; Leeward Islands Hurricanes on January 15 and CCC Marooners on January 17.
The top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals at Queen’s Park Oval, where the group winners play the runners-up from the opposite group in a one-off match for a place in the Grand Final on Sunday, January 24, at the same venue.
This equals a total of 27 matches for the biggest, senior regional domestic 50 overs-a-side tournament ever staged by the WICB.
Group ‘A’, which will be played in Trinidad and Tobago, comprises Red Force, Marooners, Barbados Pride and ICC Americas.
The full squad reads: Leon Johnson (captain), Christopher Barnwell (vice-captain), Assad Fudadin, Kevon Boodie, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Vishaul Singh, Raymon Reifer, Anthony Bramble, Steven Jacobs, Veerasammy Permaul, Gudakesh Motie, Paul Wintz, Romario Shepherd and Royston Crandon.

By Rajiv Bisnauth