Part of the Leeward Islands’ plan against Guyana in their second round game of the WICB Four-Day tournament is to push Guyana on the back foot from ball one.
This was revealed by the Coach Leon ‘Kuma’ Rodney when he spoke with this newspaper yesterday via telephone. The second round match between the two sides should have been a must-win encounter but heavy and persistent rain throughout Wednesday night and part of Thursday caused officials to abandon the first day of the match yesterday. It is not yet known if any play will be possible today but up to press time yesterday the water had started to recede after there was sun for the entire day yesterday. After the two days of rain the outfield of the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground, Bourda, was inundated, with only the pitch and parts of the 30-yard circle visible. Rodney said that despite the loss to the England Lions in their first game there was evidence that his side did not measure up to their capability. He was referring to his side being asked to follow on 247 runs behind England Lions’ first innings score of 553 for six declared when they collapsed to 127 all out, to lose by an innings and 20 runs at Warner Park.
He noted though that after a talk with the team they were eager to make amends, declaring that the Guyanese would have been put on the defensive early in the match. Rodney noted that after their first match he thought it somewhat disturbing his team was bowled out in a session, especially after his players were mostly competitive against the professional side.
Despite lamenting that the players were not where they should have been, there was one positive coming out of the defeat with 20-year-old opener Kieran Powell stroking his maiden first class century.
Apart from that Rodney stated that while his side is a young one there is a nucleus of good players and they will put on a good show if play is permitted. He conceded that they will be putting their best foot forward and continue in the tournament one game at a time.
The Leewards are in the cellar position without a point while the Guyanese are on four points after gaining first innings points in their defeat to Jamaica.
The Guyanese batting again came under the microscope when one wicket triggered a familiar collapse in their second innings as they chased 359 for victory against the three-time defending champions Jamaica at Alpart Sports Club. Guyana entered the last day on 58-0, after a superb 250 comeback knock from Marlon Samuels, but were dismissed for 197.
Yesterday when Stabroek Sport spoke with Guyana’s skipper Assad Fudadin he said that they were looking to deliver some solid performances if the match is played today. He said that despite the loss there were some batsmen who showed signs of promise with their starts and this will improve as the tournament progresses. Fudadin said that there was a focus during their training on the batsmen staying longer at the crease since it was realised that the problem is concentration and shot selection. He emphasised that that since their loss to Jamaica their training has intensified and yesterday’s session at the Chetram Singh Centre of Excellence training facility was no different.
He posited that everybody realises their roles in the team but the aim is still to improve and to execute properly on the field.
