If anything, the fact that the Amazon Conquerors failed to reach at least the semi-finals of the just-concluded Caribbean T20 cricket tournament must be a huge disappointment to local cricket fans.
Prior to the team’s departure for Antigua, there was some amount of optimism (however misplaced that optimism might have been) that the team would do well notwithstanding the ruckus that took place between the government and the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) as they battled furiously for control of the nation’s cricket.
The fact that the team was unable to train following the Christmas holidays because of the installation, by the government, of an Interim Management Committee (IMC) and the claims by the GCB that they were locked out of their Regent Street office, obviously had a lot to do with the team’s preparedness for such an important venture.
The team flattered to deceive when they won the opening game against the Leeward Islands, a victory which prompted a flurry of congratulatory cables from those seeking to milk every ounce of publicity from the feat and to give the impression that they are serious about the development and the future of Guyana’s cricket.
However, the showing by the Amazon Conquerors in the team’s much-anticipated clash against the Trinidad and Tobago’s Red Force, eventual winners of the competition quickly brought the supporters back to earth with a bump.
On no less a day than Black Friday (January 13) Guyana lurched from one precarious position to another before settling for an inadequate total of 101 for nine from their allotted overs.
Though, player of the tournament, Keiron Pollard did hit two sixes in his unbeaten innings of 21, Lendl Simmons, 30, Darren Bravo, 22 and Dwayne Bravo, 18 all made useful scores as the Trinidadians romped to their first ever T20 win over the Guyanese.
Guyana’s cricket has undoubtedly fallen away after a period in which the future seemed bright when the national U-19 cricketers were winning seven annual regional tournaments on the trot and Carl Hooper, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ronnie Sarwan were leading Guyana to taste the nectar of regional success at the senior level.
Such success, since then, has been few and far between. The Guyana T20 team, though, in the short history of that particular aspect of the game, had established itself as a virtual regional giant, winning the inaugural Stanford T20 tournament and qualifying a few years later for the 2010 Champions League by winning the West Indies Cricket Board qualifying tournament.
Those two performances especially, make the loss to the Windward Islands and the thrashing the team received from Trinidad and Tobago in the qualifying rounds especially galling. The failure of the T20 team adds to the failures of the 50 overs and four-day teams to, at least, consistently reach the semi-finals and is a clear indication as to what depths Guyana’s cricket has sunk.
That there should be a review of the team’s performance is a must and the recommendations coming out of that review should be used when the GCB commences its planning for next year’s tournament.
For now the exigency should be on the focus of the upcoming four-day tournament and, rather than rest on their laurels in the face of their recent failure, the national cricketers and those tasked with the responsibility of getting the team together should commence their work now.
It is interesting to note that government has issued a statement denying that it has arrived at an agreement with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) over the issue of the IMC and its role in the administration of cricket locally.
That statement makes it quite unclear which is the body tasked with ensuring Guyana’s participation at the regional four-day tournament.
One hopes that there will not be a reoccurrence of the same problems that plagued the team prior to its participation in the just concluded T20 tournament that could lead to similar results.
