After a moment of prayer and a few final words of encouragement, Guyana’s national cricket team, the “Amazon Conquerors” yesterday departed the shores of Guyana for South Africa where they will take on their toughest battle yet at the Airtel Champions League which officially begins on Friday.
The Amazon Conquerors, so named in promotion of Guyana’s eco-tourism, during a brief gathering at the Princess Hotel, Providence received words of encouragement from President of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), Chetram Singh and the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Dr. Frank Anthony. The Amazon Conquerors are in Group B where they will challenge four of the competition’s 10 teams for a spot in the semi-finals. They are grouped along with Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Highveld Lions out of South Africa, the Mumbai Indians, and the South Australia Redbacks.
Led by Captain Ramnaresh Sarwan, the Amazon Conquerors will be in competition on Sunday in their first match where they will take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore at Centurion, Tshwane.
Following will be matches against the Mumbai Indians on September 16 at Kingsmead, Durban; the Highveld Lions on September 19 at the New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg and their final preliminary group match against South Australia’s Redbacks on September 21, again at the New Wanderers Stadium.
While a win of all their group matches would no doubt be testament to their strength in the competition Guyana must win at least two of their four games in order to have a chance of advancing to the semifinals. Opening the Caribbean’s performance at the inaugural
tournament last year, the West Indies’ representative team, Trinidad and Tobago, sliced their way to the final of the tournament before being cut down by the New South Wales Blues, losing by 41 runs in the decisive match.
With Trinidad’s performance setting the bar high for Guyana, superb performances and big wins are expected from the Guyana team that must strive to emulate Trinidad’s performances at the inaugural Caribbean Twenty20 Championship. In his address yesterday morning Dr. Anthony encouraged the players to remember the commitment they owe to a country that has never faltered to back them, and to cast aside all inhibitions and remember the thousands of fans who will be rooting for them not only at home but those abroad as well.
