… Hetmyer selected as U-19 player

By Rajiv Bisnauth

DESPITE the absence of some big superstars in T20 cricket, head coach of the Guyana Amazon Warriors, Roger Harper, believes the Warriors make-up will be a competitive force during the 2016 edition of the Hero Caribbean Premier League.The 52-year-old Harper, who replaced fellow Guyanese and Australia-based Carl Hooper, told Guyana Chronicle Sport yesterday, that the selected players are capable of taking the Warriors to their first title.

Harper, a former West Indies all-rounder and former coach of the West Indies and Kenya senior teams, was at the helm of the Guyana Amazon Warriors franchise in 2013 and 2014, when the South American-based franchise reached the final on both occasions. However, they lost to Jamaica Tallawahs and Barbados Tridents respectively.
In 2015, the Guyana Amazon Warriors reached the semifinals phase, but Harper, who was reinstated to the position of head coach after being relieved of the post last year, is backing his group of players to deliver.
“Yes definitely we lost a few senior players who have formed the core of the team in the past, but we managed to put together a good squad of quality players … players who are capable to play competitive cricket,” Harper disclosed.
Prior, to the CPL player draft which took place on February 11 in Barbados, a top official within the Warriors management had told this publication that the Guyana Amazon Warriors will most likely give preference to the region-based players.
To this end, the Warriors management went for eleven region-based players during the player draft namely: Barbados’ Dwayne Smith, Trinidad and Tobago’s Jason Mohammed, Rayad Emrit and Steven Katwaroo, Antigua’s Orlando Peters, Guyana’s Assad Fudadin, Christopher Barnwell, Steven Jacobs, Veerasammy Permaul, Paul Wintz and Anthony Bramble.
The squad also includes New Zealand’s Martin Guptill, who was bought as the marquee player, Australia’s Chris Lynn, Sohail Tanvir of Pakistan, Australian Adam Zampa and Muhammad Ahsan Ali Khan (ICC Americas).
Winning West Indies Youth World Cup captain Shimron Hetmyer was selected as the Under-19 player.
The Guyana Amazon Warriors will play 10 games in the preliminary phase of the League, with four matches in Guyana, two in Florida and one each in Trinidad and Tobago, St Kitts and Nevis, Jamaica and St Lucia.
The Hero CPL 2016 will be held from June 29 to August 7.