After a turbulent journey, Young Warriors Cricket Club is quickly becoming a team to reckon with once again as they head into the 2019 season.
Young Warriors, originating in the Cumberland, East Canje, Berbice area, a few months ago was practically unheard of after being dismantled.
With administrators allegedly mishandling the club’s resources and misunderstandings among its members, the club took a turn for the worse after over 20 years of prosperity, unable to play in competitions or even train but since the instatement of the interim management committee headed by former president of the Berbice Cricket Board, Anil Beharry, the team is back to its winning ways.
Since banding together, the team has participated in three first-division tournaments in the Ancient County, making it to the finals of all, losing two to Rose Hall Town Gizmos and Gadgets.
They are set to play the same team in their third final.
Recently, players and administrators who had reached their limit towards the deplorable state of the facility gathered and were seen repainting and doing minor repairs to have the ground back in condition, even hosting the final of a first-division tournament in December.
The club has recently produced the first test player from the area in the form of Shimron Hetmyer who is also in support of the resurgence.
“It is fantastic playing for Warriors, it is actually the only club I represented in Berbice I would say and even in Guyana on the whole just playing for them is a feeling that makes you push yourself just a little bit harder because everyone there actually knows you from a little boy playing so everyone has been there just trying to better players,” Hetmyer said.
The 22-year-old added that the club has a talented group of cricketers and he will do as much as he can to help them improve.
“I think we have some very talented guys there at Young Warriors. It is just the fitness part we have to focus on, as it is young guys they don’t really like to train as much so that’s just something we start to work on so when they get into a Guyana set up it wouldn’t be much different.”
He said that once he is at home he will be at the ground everyday trying to help the players to get accustomed to training regularly. Even when he is not there he will be setting systems in place for that.
First division captain, Suresh Dhanai said: “In terms of Young Warriors, it is a great achievement for us to produce a test player. We would call on him to bring his knowledge and techniques from the higher levels and continue to be dominant.”
Dhanai noted that they have already began putting things in place with a group encouraging each other every day to do their best and put in the hard work.
Looking at 2019, Dhanai said the team is looking to get their first-division team fully functional with fitness criteria and other modes of determining selection available as well as working extensively to have the junior levels back into the set up.
