– Roger Harper
Former West Indies coach Roger Harper said yesterday that the Amazon Conquerors did not play to their full potential although their performance got markedly better as they progressed in the Airtel Champions League in South Africa.
In an invited comment, Harper posited that the players should now view their participation at such a high-profile tournament as a learning experience. He maintained also that the young – and for the most part inexperienced – unit played against professional cricketers, who had prepared for a tournament of that magnitude long before Guyana’s own one-month stint.
Therefore Guyana’s future preparation should not be focused on just winning at the regional level, but rather to make an indelible impression on high-level tournaments, Harper said.
Additionally, from a technical standpoint, Harper emphasised that preparation of the players must coincide with the conditions that they will be faced with wherever they may go.
He believes that with this sort of conditioning the players will be better able to adapt although they may not be full fledged professional cricketers as their counterparts were in South Africa.
Apart from that Harper noted that the local governing body for cricket, Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has a concept about what is required in the future.
Commenting on leg spinner Devendra Bishoo, Harper said he handled himself very well when he bowled. His adaptation to the conditions and to the higher standard of play was admirable, according to the former Guyanese and West Indies off spinner.
The Amazon Conquerors returned from South Africa last night winless and after being eliminated in the first round of the Airtel Champions League. The team departed Guyana four days before their first match on September 12 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore and they were thoroughly outplayed at SuperSport Park.
However, their performance got better against the Mumbai Indians, Highveld Lions of South Africa and the South Australia Redbacks, who were pushed the hardest to maintain their unbeaten streak in the tournament, in their second, third and fourth matches respectively.
When Stabroek Sport contacted acting president of the GCB Faizul Bacchus he stated that the Guyanese cricketers performed creditably on their first assignment on the international level, albeit that they walked away without a win. Also, in his estimation, the faster and bouncier pitches conspired against the Guyanese, who are more accustomed to the flat, slower wickets of the Caribbean.
He reckoned Guyana would have done better had the tournament been played in India as was the case last year where Caribbean side Trinidad & Tobago played unbeaten in the competition until the final.
He said Guyana’s pinch hitter in the Caribbean Cup Jonathan Foo was out of sync with the pace of the wicket, adding that the competition this year was stiffer than last year. Bacchus also acknowledged that the team’s short time in South Africa before the tournament was a factor that worked against the “young side” that was led by Ramnaresh Sarwan. He opined that Guyana should have spent more time on the continent before the tournament’s commencement.
Second Vice President of the GCB Bissondial Singh supported some of the sentiments Harper had expressed, stating that the team has the requisite talent but now the GCB has a better plan to now prepare this talent for other big stage events. He also agreed that the team got better as it progressed in the tournament and therefore there is hope still that the team can return and give a better account of itself.
He indicated also that it would have benefited the team if it had had a practice match or two in South African conditions. South Africa lies at an altitude of about 1,350m (4,500”) above sea level.
Meanwhile, Public Relations Officer of the GCB Terry Holder said that after Guyana’s opening game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore it was evident that the team was overcome by nerves playing on such a mega stage. However, the team played as if it belonged at the tournament, holding its own afterwards, according to Holder.
He pointed out that now the team can focus on becoming Caribbean champions again and returning to the Champions League to churn out better performances.
