By Avenash Ramzan
The management team of the Guyana Amazon Warriors on Tuesday began preparations in earnest for the Hero Caribbean Premier League (Hero CPL) 2016 with an interactive session in Georgetown.
The session was geared to have the local based players interact with each other, field questions and seek clarifications ahead of CPL 2016.
The players who attended were all-rounder Christopher Barnwell, left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul, leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo, all-rounder Steven Jacobs, batsman Assad Fudadin, wicketkeeper Anthony Bramble, seamer Paul Wintz, opener Shimron Hetmyer and Under-19 selectee Akshaya Persaud.
Team Operations Manager of the Amazon Warriors franchise, Omar Khan, spoke of the reason for Tuesday’s session.
“We thought it absolutely necessary to get a feel from the players themselves as to their readiness, not only in terms of their physical readiness, but also in terms of their mental preparation,” Khan highlighted.
He continued, “Because we have found over the years that players go through all the physical training, they do all the gym work and they do all that is required, but at the end of the day to be mentally ready for a tournament like this is much more than being physically ready and being fit.”
The session was conducted by the management team, which included Khan, Head Coach Roger Harper, Assistant Coach Esaun Crandon, Strength and Conditioning Trainer Clinton Jeremiah and Physiotherapist Jason Pilgrim.
According to Khan, physical sessions will be held at the National Stadium from this week, while gym work will be done at Fitness53 at Providence.
“And what the Trainer and Physio would do is actually assess where they [the players] are and then give them a programme to do work from now until the start of CPL,” Khan stated.
Guyana Amazon Warriors are down to play the first match of CPL 2016 against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, and according to Khan, significant progress has been made in laying the groundwork for a successful campaign.
“I think we’ve had the full support. I think the most important thing is having the full support of the franchise owner [Dr Ranjisinghi Ramroop]. We’ve had that from Dr Ramroop; he’s been a very good franchise owner, very supportive…and he clearly understands what is required in terms of running a franchise and having all the preparations and logistical arrangements in place,” Khan explained.
After the indoor session on Tuesday morning, the players took to the National Stadium for their first physical workout ahead of the impending season.
The Guyana Amazon Warriors finished as runners-up in 2013 and 2014, and were knocked out at the semi-final stage last year. The Martin Guptill-led franchise will look to break new grounds when CPL 2016 bowls off in June.
The Guyana Amazon Warriors squad reads: Dwayne Smith, Rayad Emrit, Veerasammy Permaul, Orlando Peters, Assad Fudadin, Anthony Bramble, Paul Wintz, Steven Jacobs, Steven Katwaroo, Ali Khan, Jason Mohammed, Christopher Barnwell, Chris Lynn, Sohail Tanvir, Martin Guptill and Adam Zampa. (aramzan@guyanatimesgy.com)
