By Marlon Munroe
The management of the Guyana team is hoping to get the players above the required fitness level for the two-tier regional Under-19 competition scheduled for St. Lucia next month.
Former Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Vice President Alvin Johnson told Stabroek Sport at the Chetram Singh Centre of Excellence yesterday said that the upcoming tournament was a “cramped one and therefore the emphasis is on fitness.”
Guyana’s 14-man team commenced its 18-day encampment on Monday at the La Bonne Intention (LBI) hostel and training facility and will wrap up the encampment on July 2.
Guyana’s first match in the tournament will be against the Leeward Islands on July 9.
“What we are trying to emphasise is to get them to a level of fitness that is probably above what is required of them so that we put them at peak fitness because this tournament seems to be a very cramped tournament,” Johnson explained.
The West Indies Cricket Board/Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) under-19 tournament will consist of the customary three-day and 50-over competitions.
The tournament will be played on a round robin basis with a two-day rest period between the two tournaments while there will be a rest day between each three-day game.
Johnson told this publication that at the first encampment a few weeks ago some of the players were rusty. He attributed this to the sporadic rainy season that has halted cricket but acknowledged that they have shown marked improvement thus far.
He said that the 18-day encampment will focus on holistically preparing the players for the one-month championships since “the itinerary will be quite demanding.”
He said that there is also a focus on the core and circuit training and also the addition of yoga and other strengthening exercises for the young cricketers.
The cricketers conducted their first yoga session yesterday at the Transport Sports Club pavilion. Yoga refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India. The word is associated with meditative practices in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
Additionally, the programme which is being facilitated by GCB’s Cricket Development Officer, Reon King, will also see the youngsters playing in practice matches and assimilation exercises. According to Johnson, the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, was identified to be the venue for these exercises but since that facility will be closed until July 1, the Eve Leary ground will now be used.
“When I first saw yoga in the programme I was a bit curious but then I later understood that it was a concentrated activity. But today (yesterday) there were a lot of stretching and putting all of the muscles under pressure for strength training; the yoga is all in keeping with what we are trying to do and our aim for peak fitness,” Johnson said.
Meanwhile, Johnson, who accompanied the team last year as manager, said that he is satisfied with the team that has been selected. He indicated that “the selectors clearly selected the team with balance as the watchword in mind.”
Commenting on cohesion in the unit Johnson stated, “The youngsters are fitting in and the good thing is that they have played at the inter-county level. There was some tension; those who were omitted (from the squad of 26 players) they were withdrawn and the ones that made the cut were buoyant.”
Another emphasis, according to Johnson, is the importance of winning. He revealed that he and Coach Hubern Evans told the charges “that winning does not come coincidentally.
“We said to them (players) if you want to succeed put in the hard work now and winning will come easy later but if you take things lightly now then things will be hard later on,” Johnson concluded.
