Guyana’s national cricket team, basking in the euphoria of their hard-fought, four-wicket win over the Combined Campuses and Colleges team in the just concluded third round of the West Indies Cricket Board’s (WICB) Regional Four-Day competition, will receive a timely boost with the
additions of Ramnaresh Sarwan and Trevon Griffith.
The two, middle-order batsman Sarwan and opening batsman Griffith, will replace the struggling opening pair of Sewnarine Chattergoon and Rajendra Chandrika, a release from the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) stated yesterday.
Sarwan, the former Guyana skipper, had earlier declared his unavailability for the competition, but according to a source close to the GCB, wrote the GCB hierarchy on Friday stating that he was now available.
The decision to make himself available for Guyana could revive the flagging career of the veteran West Indies player who has played some 87 test matches and 173 One-Day Internationals for the senior West Indies team.
But his career had appeared over after he was overlooked by both the West Indies and Guyana selectors.
Having last played for the West Indies during the second test of the Digicel 2011 Series against India in the Caribbean, Sarwan has not played for the Ottis Gibson-coached side since.
He was also omitted by the Reon Griffith led senior selection panel of the GCB on fitness grounds for the Regional T20 tournament in January but was subsequently named skipper of the Guyana team for the Regional Four-Day competition by the government implemented Interim Management Committee before opting out of the GCB named team.
Griffith, the former West Indies Under-19 opening batsman, gets his chance following the failures of the two opening batsmen.
Chandrika and Chattergoon have scored 54 and 59 runs respectively from their three matches at averages of 9.83 and 9.00 respectively.
Griffith and Sarwan will strengthen the Guyana team’s batting which was being carried by the middle order trio of Leon Johnson, Narsingh Deonarine and Assad Fudadin.
Johnson and Deonarine scored half centuries against the CCC team while Fudadin scored his maiden regional century also in that match.
Guyana will take on Jamaica at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua from Friday in their first ever day/night first class encounter.
The Guyana team will be selected from, Veerasammy Permaul, captain, Griffith, Fudadin, Johnson, Deonarine, Sarwan, Christopher Barnwell, Royston Crandon, Derwin Christian, Devendra Bishoo, Brandon Bess and Ronsford Beaton.
