Manager of the national cricket team Elroy Stephney believes that Guyana stumbled in the final of the West Indies Under-15 tournament because there was some misreading of the pitch conditions at the Gilbert Park last Sunday in Trinidad & Tobago.
Stephney told Stabroek Sport that the team, which had played unbeaten up to the final, banked on the knowledge that it had batted last for most of the games it won.
He maintained that T&T had some decent spinners who ensured that the South American youngsters went down by 81 runs to finish in a three way tie along with Jamaica who had handed the Trinidad team their only defeat of the tournament.
The manager said that it was a decent wicket and the T&T players exploited the option of batting first. Further, Stephney revealed that the little deterioration that was evident after the first side batted was used by the T&T bowlers to their full advantage.
Stephney quipped that.. “the game all came down to the spinners and since the Guyanese batted last they were not able to counteract the spin.” He did, however, congratulate captain and all-rounder Shawn Pereira for his strong leadership throughout the tournament.
Pereira’s leadership
Stephney believes that Pereira’s leadership made the difference with the players being able to band together and play as a team.
He told Stabroek Sport yesterday that it was the first time in quite a while that he has seen a young cricketer being able to marshal his charges and get the best out of them, especially since 11 out of the 14 players were making their debut at that level.
Pereira, who led Berbice to the Inter-County under-15 title weeks before the Trinidad tournament, was described as having the ingredients to lead in the future and can prove to be a valuable asset should he continue with the game. When Stabroek Sport sought a comment from the coach of the team, Adrian Amsterdam, it was told that he was in the Twin Island Republic with fast bowlers Dexter George and Mohammed Hassan. The young bowlers are at a coaching clinic with former Australian pacer Craig Mc Dermott.
Guyana’s WICB representative Anand Sanassie disclosed that other cricketers of yesteryear are also involved in the programme. Mc Dermott was the spearhead of the Australian attack in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
His best bowling analysis in Tests is 8-97 against England in 1991 and he ended with 291 wickets from 70 Tests and 203 one-day wickets with the best analysis being the 5-44. Meanwhile the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) have collaborated and the two entities are currently holding a fast bowling clinic. According to Stephney it was raised during the tournament that the art of fast bowling had slipped away from Caribbean speedsters and therefore it was important that something be done to help from the youth level.
“This is the opportune time to hold such a clinic and it will be good for our fast bowlers especially at the nursery level,” Stephney reasoned.
