After the Government of Guyana doled out US$100,000 (GYD$20M) prior to the Amazon Conquerors’ departure three weeks ago for the Airtel Champions League in South Africa, today will be the day of accountability to Sports Minister Dr. Frank Anthony.
The national cricket team will meet with Dr. Anthony at 10am at his Main Street office for a debriefing session.
It is not yet known what recommendations will be made but captain Ramnaresh Sarwan, yesterday told Stabroek Sports…“We did not play that well.”
It is expected that Manager Carl Moore and coach Ravindranauth Seeram will make the bulk of the contributions to the minister today, Sarwan posited.
However, Sarwan indicated that he too will be making his own recommendations today for the future.
The Amazon Conquerors returned from South Africa last Thursday night winless after they were eliminated in the first round of the tournament.
Sarwan acknowledged though, that his team performed better as they went along, citing that nerves and unaccustomed conditions also played its part in his side’s general performance.
“Although we did not play that well I hope the young players learn from that experience.
It is just a matter of them taking that experience from over there and trying to push on from there.
“I think there were a bit of nervousness around; I don’t think it was a matter of luck or confidence but it was the whole occasion and the fact that they were playing against players that they would have seen on television but never played against them,” he added.
“I can’t say I was satisfied after the first game but it seemed that we were playing bat and ball rather than the names and although we did not play that well we got better as the tournament went on.”
Sarwan said the playing conditions were the biggest impediment.
“I think the most challenging part was the conditions in terms of the altitude
we were playing at,” Sarwan admitted.
He revealed that some of the players fell ill and were not able to recover fast enough.
In addition, many of the players had not travelled for the “amount of time and distance and that in itself was a challenge for them,” the Captain disclosed.
The West Indies middle order batsman believes that those factors caused some “mental” weakness but was hopeful that the team can perform better should another opportunity arise.
Commenting on his senior players Travis Dowlin and Sewnarine Chattergoon, Sarwan acknowledged that while it was regrettable that they did not show their true worth, he was positive that they “tried their best.” At this juncture he reiterated that the tournament served as a learning experience but implored that all players learn as
quickly as possible.
The Skipper said he believes that there is no shortage of talent in the side but admitted that honing those talents will require good guidance. And now that Guyana is preparing for the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) 50-over tournament in Jamaica from October 14 Sarwan thinks that with a full strength team they can win the tournament.
“If we can get that guidance and help each other we can play well as a team because over the years we have shown that and now we have to take that extra step to win tournaments now”, the veteran 83 test matches reckoned.
Coaching staff
There was much debate when Guyana’s most successful 20/20 bowler Lennox Cush, who went for 13 runs without a wicket in the first match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, was omitted from the second match. There were also reports that came out from South Africa that there were some issues between the player and Sarwan that resulted in his sitting out the match.
Clearing the air yesterday Sarwan said that the coaching staff did a very good job and that there were clear misrepresentations in some reports.
There was also much stir when middle order batsman Royston Crandon came before the hero of the Caribbean Cup Jonathan Foo and some reports stated that there were misunderstanding with the coach and Sarwan.
“They (coaching staff) tried to assist in any way they could. The coach and I had no problems; I think people can write whatever they want to write without getting any confirmation or whatever.
“In terms of Cush being dropped it was all about the conditions and obviously we wanted to play three seamers in Durban and unfortunately we had to drop someone and it was a tough decision to drop Cush,” Sarwan concluded.
