– Dowlin appointed captain
Guyana’s Carib Beer team commenced preparations for the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) 2009 Carib Beer tournament yesterday with physical and swimming sessions.
Team coach Albert Smith told Stabroek Sport that the team’s batting has been struggling in years gone by and he feels the problem was a mental and not a technical one.
“Over the years gone by our batting has been struggling, be it four-day, or even 50 or 20 overs competitions. And this is a mental and not (a) technical problem. The players need to have more mental strength.”
The aim of the first stage of this camp, which ends on December 22, is to get the players fit mentally and physically, but more on the mental aspect.
In that respect, the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) will employ the necessary personnel to deal with that situation, Smith stated.
Guyana’s first four matches will be played abroad owing to the local weather pattern early in the year.
Smith, who was in charge of the team which lost its first three away matches in this year’s competition, told Stabroek Sport that the fitness level of the players must be known early, and therefore the camp is vital.
“What we have noticed in times past, was that during some fielding drills, some players are displaying a level of fitness whilst some are not, and it is the `are nots’ that we are working on, whilst at the same time further enhancing those who are.
“The poor performance of our team in this competition has been going on for too long. The GCB has decided to take the bull by the horns and commence preparation early. A while ago, former national and West Indies all rounder Roger Harper was employed by the GCB to work with the players, but we still got the same result.”
He added: “The physical sessions consist of the beep test, push ups and abdominal stretches along with shuttle and endurance runs. This session is being held at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) due to the weather.
“While it is a little too early to assess the players, it was explained to them that this exercise is not a punishment to them, but more a helping hand as part of their
preparation for the tournament which is being played on a home and away basis.”
Smith stated that fielding drills are part of the programme and to effect this, the team will be at the Guyana National Stadium this morning executing those drills from 9am while regional wicket-taking record-holder Mahendra Nagamootoo has volunteered his services to the team when the net sessions commence.
“The performance of the team rests on the shoulders of the players. But we are looking for a better result as same is overdue, especially from this bunch of talented players. I would like to see the younger batsmen get amongst the runs as over the years the older guys have been scoring heavily for us,” Smith stated.
Guyana will begin its quest for the regional four-day title and the first since the Carl Hooper-led 2002 team won the Busta International Shield against the Windward Islands in Grenada.
They then journey to Barbados to oppose the Combined Colleges and Campuses side.
Meanwhile, an official of the GCB who asked to remain anonymous informed Stabroek Sport that Travis Dowlin had been named captain of the team. According to the source, Dowlin was spoken to by president of the GCB Chetram Singh who told him that he had the full backing of the GCB as the captain of the team.
What could not be verified, however, was whether Dowlin’s appointment would be for the first two away games or for the entire tournament.
