By Delvon Mc Ewan
In similar fashion like his father Carl Moore, who was the manager of the Guyana Under-15 team that won the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional U-15 title in Jamaica in 1998, Julian Moore has brought the championship back to Guyana after 15 years.
The younger Moore in his capacity as the national U-15 coach led his team past five other nations to gain top honours in the regional tournament approximately two weeks ago in Jamaica.
Julian Moore’s side won the first three matches of the tournament but the Guyana U15 team suffered a setback when they lost their fourth encounter to the Windward Islands.
However, victory in the final rounds over the hosts settled the outcome of the championships.
The coach, who is also a former national U-15 player, in his first exclusive interview since returning home, shared his team’s experience before and during the tournament, with this publication.
“I’m overjoyed with the team’s achievement, it’s been a while since Guyana last accomplished such a feat and that makes it extra special to be a part of this team that brought glory back to Guyana’s cricket, “ he said.
Before the team’s departure, the players were engaged in a week long camp that focused on the technical, tactical, mental and physical aspects of their game. Julian Moore said because of that camp he was confident before departure that Guyana had a good chance of securing the title. He added that after his team had defeated the defending champions Trinidad and Tobago in the third round, “it hit home” that Guyana can emerge as the champion team.
He said his side’s all-round ability enhanced the team’s performances during the matches. The coach, who is currently a part of the Guyana U-19 coaching staff, said each time his team batted first they posted scores over 200 runs with their highest being 266 against the Leeward Islands and lowest 227 against Barbados.
In all the team scored more than two hundred runs on four occasions while scoring 172 against Trinidad to achieve victory in a run chase.
Six batsmen, skipper Bhaskar Yadram, Joshua Persaud, Kris Ramnarine, Alphius Bookie and Steve Deonarine scored half centuries during the tournament.
In the bowling department, Kevin Sinclair, who is known for his batting, was the tournament’s leading wicket taker with 11 wickets from his mixture of off/leg spin bowling. Pacer Colin Barlow bowled well to claim
seven wickets while Ashmead Nedd was the most economical of the Guyanese bowlers.
Guyana’s progress towards the title was affected after the third round according to the coach. This was so because their leading wicket taker at that time off spinner Sagar Hathiramani (who had seven wickets when he left the camp) had to return home because of his mother’s death.
It was vividly clear that Hathiramani’s absence affected his side because they conceded 279 runs in their next match which they lost against the Windwards.
“Hathiramani and Nedd would usually bowl in the middle overs limiting the scoring rate while picking up wickets,” the coach said. There were several changes made to the team after the initial match. Those changes were part of the coach’s tactics to facilitate the dynamic situations which paid off for his team at the end. After the second round he replaced Christopher Campbell with Deonarine, who went on to score an unbeaten 35 that helped Guyana win against Trinidad. Deonarine also scored an unbeaten half century in the decisive final round match which Guyana also won. Ramnarine and Deonarine were also promoted to bat at numbers four and five in the last round and both batsmen registered half centuries.
Another major change to the team was the inclusion of pacer Bhojnarine Singh for Hathiramani, however, after the coach realized that spin was more effective, he insisted that the captain bowl which he did and was the most successful bowler in the final match against Jamaica after picking up three wickets.
The coach commended the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) for the resources invested in the camp and for the composition of players selected. He also praised the GCB for its warmth welcome on his team returned at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.
Finally, he said he will continue in assisting with the development of Guyana’s Cricket.
