By Orin Davidson
It was a triumph sweeter than anything before it in a long, long time.

If you don’t like Twenty20 cricket, the sheer excitement the shortest form of the game brings, should by now convert any Guyanese fan.

In the midst of the euphoria following a great team performance by Guyana to lift the 2010 West Indies Twenty20 title, one thing is certain, this batch of young players is not short on confidence and mental toughness.

T20 cricket may not be the best yardstick to measure a player’s technical skills and durability, but this year’s Regional championship surely showed how tough Jonathan Foo, Devindra Bishoo and company can be.

Trinidad and Tobago’s party was ravished by the precociousness of the youthful Guyanese lineup in the semifinals, which brought out the other side of some notable Trinis and one specific writer from the Guardian newspaper.

How dare this Guyana team, being run by a board in current turmoil, that is allegedly broke due to  money mismanagement, including the Stanford windfall, and where a top official was the victim of a heinous,  violent  acid attack,  upstage the new poster team of Regional cricket, following Trinidad’s brilliant second place finish at last year’s Champions League in India?

One could not help noticing how T&T captain Darren Ganga, supposedly the epitome of astuteness and decency, remonstrated with the Guyanese batting pair which ran a single off a dead ball last Friday.

One can also recall how he deliberately signalled wide to the umpire in his turn at the crease as things got tight during the runs chase.

Then there was Kieron Pollard once thought of as the gentle giant.

Pollard, who was clobbered by Foo, produced a boorish display of disrespect by showing the young Guyanese  the pavilion after dismissing him.

But little did they all know that this Guyana team was not one to lie down and play dead, even if Trinidad and Tobago is the world’s second best T20 club team.  Not this motivated young bunch brilliantly captained and inspired by Ramnaresh Sarwan.

At a mere 19 years of age, Foo showed he will not be awed by any tense situation, nor any big name player or team.

When he entered the fray during Guyana’s innings against Barbados in last Saturday’s final, he went on to show why only he thought his team could win, from a losing position of 72-5.

The Berbician reeled off sixes and fours with such fearless composure it seemed West Indians were experiencing a reincarnation of a teenage Vivian Richards.

Bishoo, on the other hand, displayed such immaculate  control and guile with his legspin in his very first T20 series for Guyana and before huge partisan crowds, that one wonders if he had never heard  of some of the biggest names in world T20 cricket in Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Dwayne Smith.

But Bishoo obviously has a huge appetite for the big occasion.

Early in the competition when he was injured in the field against the Windward Islands and was awaiting the umpire’s permission to return to the action with heavily bandaged  fingers, the expression of intent on his face, told you everything about his great stomach for a fight.

One must not forget Royston Crandon.

The younger brother of Esaun never lost the plot with the game on the line against Trinidad sweeping aside the last three Trinidad wickets in a memorable  final over with his off spin with the home team closing in on victory.

Despite its problems, the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) and its selectors must be commended for selecting a winning team.

The choice of Foo takes the cake as the insight in identifying his ability was incredible.

At this time last year, Foo was playing for the Guyana Under-19s in Jamaica where he was just another team member.

There is also the case of Lennox Cush who was implored to return to the team from his duties with the United States national side and created his own bit of history by becoming the first bowler to capture two hat-tricks in regional Twenty20 competition.

In persisting with Sarwan as captain, the selectors were spot on, moreso after he has passed up a future role as West Indies skipper.

Not many know “Sars” is a Guyanese patriot, and he dug deep in Barbados and Trinidad to prove it to the world.

With the Airtel Champions League now in its crosshairs, the Guyana team needs special preparation which requires the GCB to go even further than the extra mile to ensure success in South Africa.

Sarwan knows the score and if he is interpreted as calling out the GCB, in highlighting the team’s needs, then so be it.

For one thing, the team needs a specialist physiotherapist as they played without any in the just concluded championship.

It was embarrassing seeing reserve player Stephen Jacobs having to rush out with the magic spray when Narsingh Deonarine hurt his shoulder while batting against Barbados.

When one looks at the other big name teams in that T20 series, they were all better equipped than Guyana with support staff.

In addition to two coaches and Desmond Haynes as manager, Barbados had Jackie King as its physiotherapist.

Trinidad had Ronald Rogers, the ex-Windies team specialist while Jamaica’s equivalent was Dave Bernard.

Guyana would do well to seek out New Jersey-based Basil Butcher Jr., who the GCB knows well from the frequent voluntary seminars he has conducts for aspiring physios and players in Guyana.

Apart from being excellent in his field, he is an astute student of the game and a great team person.

We all know money is scare for the GCB but even if it has to borrow, and there are surely many willing lenders, the money has to be found to give Guyana its best shot.

In addition to the mandatory team camp and practice games, the team also needs a physical trainer and time to acclimatize to the unfamiliar conditions in South Africa.

It is winter there now so it will be bitterly cold for most of the players next month. Not to mention the thin air due to the country’s high altitude.

It will be money well-invested by the GCB as it will not be far-fetched to figure Guyana having an outside chance, or  being close to carting off the competition’s  $US 11 million first prize.

Even the basic appearance fee should easily cover any loan for preparation and support staff.

This series is chance of a lifetime for Guyana’s cricket, not to mention its sport in general.     Never before has any a team representing the country been exposed to as huge a world television audience that the Champions League will offer.

No professional boxer or Olympics team has ever had such an opportunity to advertise Guyana to the world.

Trinidad set the bar sky high with its splendid second place finish last year.

Guyana cannot afford to fall any lower.