Prior to the Guyana national cricket team’s departure for their first of four away matches in the just-concluded West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) sponsored Headley/Weekes Regional four-day competition, this reporter asked the question “How will they fare?”
The answer, a cellar position finish with a record that reads 12-0-6-0-6 and 33 points with their nearest rivals Barbados and the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) being 27 points above them.
Only recalled West Indies middle order batsman Narsingh Deonarine, who at the start of the tournament had his eyes on 600 runs, eclipsed the competition to accumulate 1068 runs at an average of 59.33, with two centuries and seven half centuries.
Deonarine apart, only discarded skipper Travis Dowlin (580 runs from 11 matches) and Royston Crandon (561 from 8 matches) managed to score over 500 runs for Guyana.
The miserable 2009 campaign started with four consecutive losses, with two of them coming inside three days and one loss occurring despite the team obtaining first innings points.
While an innings and 147 runs defeat suffered at the hands of the Windward Islands who were once considered the minnows of regional cricket, was the largest margin of defeat for Guyana, the only country that failed to record a victory over Guyana was Trinidad and Tobago.
Guyana used 21 players for their 12 matches, but at the end of the tournament they remained in the cellar position despite climbing out of it once.
With the absence of its two experienced players in Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the senior national team could have been likened to an Under-15 club side going against a touring team of a higher calibre.
A look at the batting showed that it lacked consistency, especially in the first four away matches, which resulted in coach Albert Smith being axed and replaced by former national middle order batsman Rabindranauth Seeram.
Seeram started his campaign with two draws against T&T and Jamaica respectively, followed by a first innings win over the Windwards.
But Guyana lost to the Windwards while their encounter against CCC was abandoned on the last day in hot sunshine, without a ball being bowled, followed by a no result match-up against the Leeward Islands.
The batting clicked at home, with Deonarine who displayed a level of maturity as one of the three senior batsmen in the team, (Dowlin and Leon Johnson being the other two) and Assad Fudadin (391 runs) staging fights for their team.
Except for the Guyana/Leewards first round match, an opposing batsman recorded a century against the Guyanese in their first six matches whether it was in the first or second innings of that game.
It was not until the final match of the first round against Jamaica, when Derwin Christian recorded his maiden first class century that a Guyanese recorded a century in the tournament.
Dowlin, Deonarine, Johnson, Royston Crandon and even Christian got starts in the earlier matches, but failed to carry on with the latter compiling a record seven ducks in the tournament.
Five centuries were recorded by the Guyanese batsmen, with Deonarine scoring two, while Royston Crandon emulated Christian with his maiden century against Barbados and Sewnarine Chattergoon scored his also against Barbados in the second innings.
Barnwell lived up to his expectations as the all rounder in the team alongside Esaun Crandon, scoring 394 runs at an average of 24.62 with two half centuries to go with the 14 wickets he took at an average of 42.35.
Crandon scored 181 runs at an average of 13.92 while he was third in the bowling with 20 wickets at an average of 32.40.
Not much could be mentioned about the bowling, even though Devendra Bishoo (38) and Veerasammy Permaul with 32 wickets each from 10 matches lived up to expectations.
Brandon Bess came on the scene last year and looked the part, drawing a few comments from double world record holder Brian Lara despite having a few problems, including overstepping the front crease.
But 12 months after and there were no signs of improvement from a young fast bowler who found a place on the West Indies ‘A’ team against the touring Englishmen earlier this year.
When he lacked direction, he found a line and when he lacked a line, he found direction and for a young fast bowler on whom the captain was depending for a breakthrough with the new ball, he failed to deliver.
Bess played nine matches and took 11 wickets at an average of 67.63 with his best figures being 3-65 against CCC in the first round.
His other new ball partners in Esaun Crandon (20; 32.40), Barnwell (14; 42.35) and Trevon Garraway (6; 58.83) all looked the part at times throughout the tournament.
In fact, the record shows that apart from Bishoo who took 6-64 against the Leewards, only Barnwell who took 5-77 in the final round against Jamaica took more than five wickets in an innings for Guyana.
Having the bulk of the bowling took its toll on 22-year-old Bishoo’s frail shoulders, that he was forced to sit out Guyana’s game against the Leewards at his home ground, Albion Sports Club with a sore shoulder.
Meanwhile, president of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Chetram Singh told Stabroek Sport that a special meeting involving the manager, coach and captain of the team will be held today to review the team’s performance in this year’s tournament.
