Members of the national T20 team going through their paces yesterday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall
Despite being robbed of much needed turf practice due to the current inclement weather, coach Ravindranauth Seeram says the national T20 team is mentally prepared and focused on defending the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Caribbean T20 title when the competition is staged in Antigua and Barbados from January 10-23.
The Guyanese won the inaugural competition last year and subsequently qualified to represent the region at the Airtel Champions League in South Africa where they failed to get beyond the preliminary round.
Coach Ravindranauth Seeram
Seeram, a former national first-class batsman, told this publication during an exclusive interview at one of the team’s training sessions at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall yesterday, that the team is focused on the task ahead.
“On the fitness side, I think we’re ready. I know the other teams will be coming hard at us because we are the defending champions, but the guys know their goals and what they want in the New Year, so we’re working towards that. We’ve played against these teams for quite a number of years so we’re aware of their strengths and weaknesses,” Seeram said.
“We didn’t have much turf practice, and that is always a concern because cricket is played in the middle, but the guys are fully fit and ready for the challenge.”
The only form of match practice the team has enjoyed so far is participation in a recently concluded warm-up series in Trinidad and Tobago, but they were limited to just two matches as rain had the final say.
After an opening loss against the Trinidad and Tobago ‘A’ team, the Guyanese recovered to defeat the Trinidad and Tobago Under-23 Academy, but rain prevented a juicy showdown between the South Americans and 2009 Airtel Champions League representative, Trinidad and Tobago.
“The guys were a bit rusty, understandably so, because we didn’t have any match practice prior to that. The two matches were good for us, and despite the defeat in the first game, the spirit is high in the camp and the guys are confident of doing well,” Seeram observed.
The 49-year-old Seeram noted that skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan has “led from the front” during the preparatory phase and has expertly guided the team. He added that ace batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who is currently overseas, will join the team prior to the start of the tournament.
According to Seeram, the team will break camp on Friday and regroup the following day for departure to the Caribbean.
Guyana will open their campaign against Jamaica on January 10 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua, while their other matches in the preliminary round will be against Somerset (January 12), Combined Campuses and Colleges (January 14), and the Windward Islands (January 18).
The teams in the other group are: Trinidad and Tobago, the Leeward Islands, Barbados, Hampshire, and Canada. The top two from each group will advance to the semi-finals.
Guyana team reads: Ramnaresh Sarwan (captain), Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Christopher Barnwell, Travis Dowlin, Esaun Crandon, Royston Crandon, Devendra Bishoo, Veerasammy Permaul, Derwin Christian, Andre Stoll, Jonathon Foo, Steven Jacobs, and Richard Ramdeen. Ravindranauth Seeram (Coach), and Carl Moore (Manager).
