Guyana will be looking to build on the momentum gained from their crushing fourth round victory over Barbados when they face off with Trinidad and Tobago today in their final match of the 2011/12 West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) regional four-day competition at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad.
Narsingh Deonarine sent down his off-spinners on Monday against Barbados to grab 7-27 and skittle the side for 58 – the lowest ever total in the tournament.
This 2011/12 campaign in which the Guyanese currently sit second in the table behind four-time defending regional champions Jamaica has been a relatively successful one compared to their recent performances in first-class cricket over the past four seasons.
Coming into this season, dating back to the 2007/08 period, Guyana had managed to win just two out of their 31 first-class matches.
Both of those wins came versus the Leeward Islands firstly in 2007/08 when Ramnaresh Sarwan warmed-up for the home test against Sri Lanka with an even innings of 150 to lead Guyana to an innings and 29 run win.
Then in 2009/10, unbeaten innings of 105 and 32 from the legendary Shivnarine Chanderpaul propelled the side to a five-wicket victory.
When Guyana locked horns with Trinidad last season at Providence an unbeaten double century (204) from Lendl Simmons, propelled the boys from the twin island republic to an innings and 45-run triumph inside three days.
With that abysmal record compounded by the well known off-field distractions surrounding Guyana cricket, the team so far has done quite well especially since it is playing all matches away from home.
Stabroek Sport chatted with Guyana coach Esuan Crandon via e-mail yesterday about various aspects of the team going into today’s important clash.
He was first asked to give his view on the Barbados victory and the current mood in the Guyana camp.
“Thought we played well as a team throughout the four days against Barbados, we executed our game plan well and came out victorious. The presence of Shiv (Shivnarine Chanderpaul) and Sars (Ramnaresh Sarwan) definitely helped motivate the players going into the game,” Crandon stated.
He continued: “Our first innings lead of over one hundred put us in a good position where it was difficult for us to lose and it put Barbados under pressure on the final day which we did. Overall the team is gelling together, guys are happy for each other’s success and most importantly the final result. Players are focused and hungry for more success.”
Over the last decade, Guyana’s record against the traditional Caribbean powerhouses Trinidad, Jamaica and Barbados at the first-class level has been relatively poor.
Crandon who played 38 first class matches for the national team from 2000-201, in commenting on the Barbados win, said: “I wouldn’t say that this victory was the best for me or when I represented Guyana per se, but it was satisfying and joyful because over the past five years or so we haven’t beaten them in such fashion in Barbados.”
Going into the game the Bajans were weakened due to the absence of the pillars of their bowling attack in Tino Best, Fidel Edwards and Kemar Roach due to West Indies and South Africa Twenty20 league commitments. While acknowledging that this gave the Guyanese a boost, Crandon reasoned that the team still had to do the basics well to end up on the winning side.
“Barbados missing some key players during our clash definitely boosted the team’s morale, having said so they had the resources of a few seasonal players, the likes of Ryan Hinds, Pedro Collins, Suliemann Benn and Jonathan Carter along with some talented youngsters who can win games. What we did was exploit the opportunities presented to us and execute the game plan effectively,” Crandon explained.
Left-handed trio
One of the major factors behind Guyana’s resurgent tournament this year has been the form of the left-handed trio of Deonarine, Assad Fudadin and Leon Johnson.
Deonarine and Fudadin especially have hit a purple patch and are currently the top two batsmen in the four-day tourney with 437 and 409 runs at averages of 48.55 and 50.75 respectively.
In assessing Deonarine’s form particularly, Crandon said, “Obviously he had about four chances during his innings (84 vs Barbados) and didn’t really capitalize and go big by again failing to convert another half century into triple figures. I don’t think he threw his wicket away, but on the bright side he is scoring and hopefully he can get his deserving hundred soon.”
Like Barbados, Trinidad will be missing the core base of their team in Denesh Ramdin, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, the Bravo brothers, Lendl Simmons, Ravi Rampaul due to their presence in the West Indies team or injury woes.
Finally, when asked how the team plans to attack the weakened Trinidad outfit, Crandon stated that regardless of the players missing the Guyanese will not be taking them lightly.
“Trinidad missing a lot of senior players for our encounter is out of our control. We however can’t afford to be complacent. Like I mention before they have good players who have been around for a while in their team still and can definitely step up to the plate and get the job done. We will be playing hard against them and will be looking to transfer the positives from the previous game into this one. Guys need to stay focused, as long as we execute our game plan well and be better than them in all departments, I am confident in the team coming out on top,” Crandon declared.
Guyana squad: Shivnarine Chanderpaul (captain), Trevon Griffith, Leon Johnson, Narsingh Deonarine, Assad Fudadin, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Derwin Christian, Christopher Barnwell, Veerasammy Permaul, Brandon Bess, Ronsford Beaton, Royston Crandon, Chanderpaul Hemraj.
Coach: Esaun Crandon, Manager: David Black.
Trinidad and Tobago squad: Rayad Emrit (captain), Justin Guillen, Adrian Barath, Marlon Barclay, Jason Mohammed, Aneil Kanhai, Imran Khan, Kevon Cooper, Gibran Mohammed, Shannon Gabriel, Teshawn Castro, Emile Rajah, Kavesh Kantasingh.
Omar Khan (Manager), Kelvin Williams (Coach), Ronald Rogers (Trainer), Oba Gulton (Physiotherapist); Denesh Mahabir (Video Analyst)
