The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has been able to hire 20 coaches and conduct a number of programmes facilitated by funds from the Stanford initiative, said GCB Cricket Development Officer Colin Stuart.

Currently there are head coaches in each of the three counties and coaches who operate under the guidance of the head coaches are assigned to specific areas.

Former national middle-order batsman Mark Harper is the head coach in Demerara, while Michael Hyles serves as head coach for Berbice.

Essequibo is handled slightly differently because of its size.

Ato Christiani serves as a supervisor for the two head coaches Vibert Johnson and Forbes Daniel, who have beenassigned two different areas. Johnson has respons- ibility for East Bank Essequibo, Leguan, Wakenaam, and Bartica while Daniel serves the Pomeroon and South, Central, and North Essequibo Coast. The coaches work with all age groups up to the senior and county levels and efforts were being made to improve coaching at the club level, said Stuart.

He added that the coaches also try to work with the primary and secondary schools as much as possible.

Stuart said the coaching programme in Guyana was based on the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) manual which suggested some structural elements. Information from the programme is sent to the WICB as each territory is expected to submit reports concerning their approach to cricket development.

The WICB will then make recommendations on the basis of information provided.

The GCB will have some decisions to make concerning the coaching programme after next month when the process through which funds are received from the Stanford initiative is expected to end.