The Demerara team is looking to put behind them the dominance of Cellink Berbice in local cricket and focus on one game at a time in order to wrest the Carib/Pepsi T20 title from the Ancient County.
This was the rationale of Manager of the Demerara team Robert ‘Pacer’ Adonis who feels that his side is fit and ready to go into today’s game against defending champions, Berbice, from 19:00 hours at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.
The former national fast bowler also believes that while Ramnaresh Sarwan’s absence from the team is a setback, the team spirit along with talent and experience will help them to succeed.
He stated that replacement skipper Leon Johnson will have to marshal his side to get the best out of them. While he recognizes that the side did not get much turf practice he still considers that they are match ready since they have been playing cricket before the inclement weather.
The Guyana Cricket Board’s (GCB) senior four-day tournament was called off late last month after persistent rainfall during the second round.
When Stabroek Sport spoke to Johnson yesterday via telephone he said that the team’s preparation was good. According to him there was not much focus on fitness since the players had been active prior to the tournament.
Johnson echoed the views of Adonis when he said that part of the two-day training progamme at the Chetram Singh Centre of Excellence, La Bonne Intention (LBI), focused on re-conditioning the players to 20/20 cricket. Aside from getting the necessary turf practice, Johnson said that his bowlers and batsmen had productive sessions.
Johnson, who was a former West Indies Under-19 captain, opined that his side may not be as experienced as in previous tournaments but he is hopeful that all his players will play their respective roles. This, he believes, is the key to winning the tournament.
Johnson also rued the unavailability of Sarwan and specialist 20/20 player Lennox Cush who will be playing in a competition in the United States.
However, he is hoping that senior players like himself, Travis Dowlin and company will click.
He also hoped that debutant David Dick, who recently returned from Trinidad & Tobago where he was named Player-of-the-Year for his club, will continue his rich form.
Coach of the side Orin Bailey said yesterday’s workout was to get his side back in 20/20 mode. His only concern though was his batsmen adjusting to the conditions of the turf. He said that at the indoor facility the ball comes on faster to the bat unlike the stadium pitch that is extremely slow.
And for this reason he said that Sarwan’s absence will be a big blow especially since he is one of the batsmen who helps to steady the middle order and guide the younger players out in the middle.
Meanwhile, when Stabroek Sport spoke to manager of Essequibo, Elroy Stephney he stated that he is confident that his team will be successful since the county’s players “are more adept to this form of cricket.” He disclosed that the selectors had brought in specialist 20/20 players for the competition.
According to Stephney, his team has a mixture of “youth and experience” and they are also in good physical condition although they did not have much practice before today’s tournament.
And a release from the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) stated that no effort was being spared in an effort to ensure that its Cellink Senior Inter-county 20/20 Team is fully prepared to successfully defend their title. The team is under the guidance of Captain Assad Fudadin, Coach Adrian Amsterdam and Manager David Black and has been training since Tuesday at the Albion Community Centre Ground.
The team on Tuesday was involved in a 20/20 practice match against the Berbice ‘A’ Team while on Wednesday the BCB employed the services of Sports Conditioning Specialist Kezqweyah Yisreal to get the players in top physical condition for the tournament.
Yisreal, who is the co-founder of Genesis Fitness Express, spent the day working with the team on an individual basis and then as a unit in an effort to ensure that the players are in top shape.
Cellink Berbice: Assad Fudadin, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Richard Ramdeen, Narsingh Deonarine, Keith Fraser, Royston Crandon, Jonathan Foo, Delbert Hicks, Devendra Bishoo, Esuan Crandon, Michael Newland, Veerasammy Permaul, Krisendat Ramoo, Keon Joseph and Devon Clements.
Demerara: Travis Dowlin, Chris Barnwell, Steven Jacobs, Wasim Haslim, Derwin Christian, Andre Stoll, Trevon Garraway, Zaheer Mohamed, Totaram Bishun, Shawn De Souza, Jamal Hinckson, Amir Khan, Lennox Cush, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Leon Johnson.
Rest Team: Gajanand Singh, Dion Ferrier, Vishal Singh, Andrew Lyght Jnr, Trevon Griffith, Renwick Batson, Anthony Bramble, Ranga Latchana, Eugene La Fleur, Shemroy Barrington, Maxie De Jonge, Kellon Carmichael, Keyron Fraser and Steven Latcha.
