… GCB secretary backing batsman to face upcoming fitness exam

By Clifton Ross

GUYANA Cricket Board (GCB) secretary Anand Sanasie says Windies batsman Shimron Hetmyer has the full support of the board, as he prepares to undergo another fitness examination to possibly return to action in Round 5 of the Regional 4-Day tournament.

Sanasie, who is also a director at Cricket West Indies (CWI) told Chronicle Sport yesterday in a brief interview following the release of the squad, which included Hetmyer, that the batsman has nothing but the fullest support from the GCB ahead of the upcoming retesting as well as his possible return to action against the Windward Volcanoes.

The dashing left-hander alongside Evin Lewis made headlines last week as two of the high-profile Windies players, who were recently omitted ahead of this Saturday’s kickoff to the Sri Lanka series. The duo flopped the Windies Fitness Test, running below the regulation 40-mark on the Yo-Yo Tests, thus resulting in their axing from the squad.
With no sight of the Berbican in Round 4, GCB secretary then stated that ex-U-19 World Cup winning skipper was overlooked for the Jamaica Scorpions clash which the Champs lost, due to the fact that he had not reported to Franchise management upon his return home from international duties.

With a new assessment date of February 14, the left-hander was seen putting in some vigorous work-out sessions with physio Neil Barry Jr at the stadium during the Jaguars/Scorpions match last week; conditioning himself ahead of this Friday’s re-testing.
Yesterday, the 23-year-old was named in the Jags squad for tomorrow’s 5th round battle against the Volcanoes. The defending champions, thanks to their mindboggling 7-run loss on Sunday at the hands of Jamaica, have dropped to second place with 49 points, with Barbados Pride taking their number one spot after accumulating an aggregate of 65.2 points.

Regarding his inclusion for the important Round 5 battle in Antigua, Sanasie said, “I’m looking forward to seeing Hetmyer back in the Guyana team, Shimron is always welcome in the Guyana Jaguars set-up. I also want him to attain his required fitness level and get back into the side and play cricket for the West Indies in all three formats (Test, ODI and T20); because he is a good player,” stated the GCB executive.

After doing the hard work and nudging the Trinidad Red Force off the points standings to reclaim their number 1 spot, Guyana faltered in the last round, losing the nail-biter to the last-placed Jamaicans which makes their title chase even more tense.

Now, with the 4-Day tourney officially reaching its half-way stage, Guyana will be keen on winning every game from here, should they seek to retain their title for a record sixth year.
Hetmyer’s return to national colours is also a good thing for the Jaguars who will be desperate to improve their mixed batting performances to date and Sanasie confirmed that the batsman will receive the full backing of the GCB going forward.

“We’re (GCB) looking forward to seeing Shimron back in Guyana colours. He will always have the full support of the Board. Hetmyer is one of the best batsmen in the Region and we want to ensure that he returns to the top of his game,” Sanasie ended.