By Marlon Munroe
Aside from focusing on getting the national under-19 cricketers to peak fitness, the management of the team is also ensuring that the youngsters draw inspiration during their toil for success from accomplished sportsmen.
Manager of the team Alvin Johnson said that trainers have been seeking to inspire the cricketers by telling them of the hard work of top athletes like Usain Bolt and Kobe Bryant.
Additionally, the cricketers are constantly being reminded that for Guyana, which has not won the TCL under-19 tournament since 2007 in St. Kitts, to win they have to show the commitment in the lead up to the tournament.
“The yoga instructor is not only going through the exercises and drills with them (cricketers) but he is giving them role models to relate to what he is doing. He told them that Usain Bolt does 500 abs a day and Kobe Bryant is the player who leads the practice; these are people they can relate to and the message is superstars don’t just arrive – it is a lot of hard work and hard work consistently.
The young cricketers are currently encamped at the Chetram Singh Centre of Excellence at La Bonne Intention (LBI), East Coast Demerara, and this phase will last for 18 days.
They are preparing for the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) under-19 tournament scheduled for St. Lucia from July 8-August 4.
Further, Johnson said, there are interviews with players individually to work out issues and help them to build capacity and confidence.
Meanwhile, the cricket development officer (CDO) and facilitator of the programme will also have talks with the players on what is expected of them during their encampment period and the upcoming tournament.
Johnson noted that the team is a talented and balanced one and will suit the two-tier tournament, which consists of the three-day and 50-over formats. The team manager also pointed out that while there are four players who played in last year’s tournament, the newcomers in the side have exhibited some temperament in handling pressure.
In the meantime, he spoke glowingly of national under-15 opening batsman, 14-year-old Brian Sattaur, who is an aggressive opening batsman. He led Guyana to third place in the under-15 regional tournament in April in Trinidad & Tobago. Johnson also mentioned the stylish Essequibo under-15 batsman Ricardo Adams.
According to the team manager, Guyana stands in good stead because these players have been exposed at home to cricket in the more senior categories. And although he believes that their sternest tests lay ahead of them against their opponents from the other Caribbean territories, he is confident that they will do well for the team.
“I want to feel that because they were exposed at the under-15 level and that they have played inter-territorial matches that exposure will do something for them. But in all fairness from under-15 to under-19 it is a big gap and therefore the competitiveness will be greater,” the Vreed-en-Hoop Primary School head teacher emphasised.
On the other hand though, Johnson is hopeful that the more seasoned players in the lineup will realise their role and “help the players along.”
With this in mind, Johnson observed that the younger players have brought a lot of “spirit and energy to the game”, adding that this might be useful especially in the 50-over format of the game.
When Stabroek Sport enquired about the bowling detail of the team he said the team was looking for balance. He reminisced on last year’s event when Guyana carried a four-prong pace attack that returned meagre dividends due to the exploits of the spinners.
He pointed out that “since the selectors bit that big bullet” in selecting four fast bowlers, this year it was decided that there will not be such a recurrence.
The selectors, headed by Michael ‘Franco’ Hyles, went with standout right arm leg spinner Amir Khan and right arm off spinner Sherwin Mc Pherson along with three quickies in West Indies under-19 bowler Keon Joseph, lanky Berbician Raun Johnson and left arm swing bowler Andre Stoll, who can also bat.
Guyana’s under-15 captain and talented leg spinner Shawn Pereira has been confined to the ranks of the standby players along with talented opening batsman Quincy Ovid-Richardson, who scored heavily during the inter-county tournament.
“Last year we bit a big bullet in carrying four fast bowlers to surprise our opponents, especially since Guyana always banks on spin bowling. And the fact that we sent four fast bowlers sent a message and the plan did not work out since the entire tournament was dominated by spin.
“This year we (the selectors) said that we were not going to be lured into that,” Johnson said.
