Guyana and Stanford Twenty20 players Travis Dowlin, Christopher Barnwell, Deon Ferrier and Derwin Christian along with Reon Griffith and Orin Forde are set to participate in the Georgetown squad contesting the DJ Stress T20 Cricket Festival at the Providence Stadium tomorrow.
The Georgetown 14-man squad which will be led by Dowlin will also include national players such as West Indies ODI player Leon Johnson, fast bowler Trevon Garraway and former West Indies Under-19 vice captain Steven Jacobs. Georgetown Cricket Club’s Ravi Sarwan, who has been making a name for himself on the local scene in this format of the game, has been sidelined with a broken right shoulder sustained on Tuesday afternoon.
The Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) held two practice matches under the lights at the Banks DIH Sports Club ground last Thursday and Friday, to select the players for the squad. According to the coach, former Guyana and West Indies fast bowler Reon King, the session allowed the players to gel as a team under the umbrella of the GCA for the first time at the senior level.
“We have the cream of the crop of cricketers in Georgetown included in this team. Of course, all of them could not make it, but the selectors made their selection of the best possible 14 to compete in this tournament,” he said.
He said too the national players will be bringing a lot of experience to the squad while many of the players who are household names in cricket have been selected to complement the senior players. King said, “We have a balanced squad with some players bringing their experience from playing at the national level.
But having said that, this is 20/20 and in this format of the game, you cannot underestimate anyone and we will not be doing so. Yes we are looking to win this tournament and do so handsomely, but at the same time, we have to be careful in how we achieve the victory.”
King also told Stabroek Sport that even though no replacement has been named for Sarwan, the selectors are expected to choose a substitute soon so he can bond with the team before tomorrow’s opening match against the Zaheer Mohammed-led East Coast Combined team.
The 14-man squad which is sponsored by Gizmos and Gadgets and playing under the name Gizmos and Gadgets GT Pitbulls comprises Travis Dowlin (captain), Leon Johnson (vice captain), Christopher Barnwell, Leroy Bristol, Deon Ferrier, Orin Forde, Derwin Christian, Trevon Garraway, Reon Griffith, Steven Jacobs, Dennis Squires and Damion Van Tull.
