National coach Esaun Crandon and Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Chairman of National Selectors Rayon Griffith yesterday deemed the first of the three-day fitness sessions held at the Guyana National Stadium a success and said that they are optimistic about garnering similar results in the remaining days.
In wake of the 2014 Regional Super 50 and Four-day competitions scheduled to bowl off next month in the twin-island republic of Trinidad and Tobago the GCB, after the conclusion of its senior 50 overs and 4-day tournaments, short-listed 37 players for possible selections ahead of the tournament.
Under the watchful eyes of Crandon along with Griffith, former youth player Julian Moore and Manager Alvin Johnson, the cricketers engaged in their first day of cardiovascular training with the aim of getting themselves prepared for the upcoming tournaments.
The coach said that the first day was… “Satisfactory adding that he …”liked the attitude shown.
“The players put out a good effort and assisted each other while gelling together as a unit,” he noted.
He explained that himself and the team members were elated that they were able to complete all their first day tasks, adding that they will be looking at the specific areas of concern and will place a lot of emphasis on making the necessary corrections.
The beep test which was carried out first, received poor ratings from the assessors and despite decent statistics produced from a small portion of the players, both Griffith and Crandon acknowledged that more time needs to be placed on that area.
“The session went ok, the beep test should have been better as it allows us to see if the players have been training, it also to helps us determine what type of training they have been doing,” said Griffith.
Despite the disappointment surrounding the beep test Crandon pointed out that the core and stability areas which included the 10-meter dash and agility tests were the most successful of the day while the players seemed in the “zone” whilst engaging in football and free-hand sessions.
Some of the country’s most senior and seasoned players such as the West Indies ‘A’ pair of Leon Johnson and Assad Fudadin, former West Indies skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan, West Indies T20 all-rounder Chris Barnwell and former West Indies opener Sewnarine Chattergoon participated in yesterday’s sessions.
Griffith lauded the maturity and hunger shown by the youngsters namely the West Indies Under-19 trio of Shimron Hetmyer, Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Gudakesh Motie-Kanhai.
“The young players are hungry and passionate and I was impressed, also because of their West Indies U19 stints their fitness level is high,” the selector duly noted.
The training session heads into its second day today at the same venue and is expected to have some batting and bowling sessions.
Day two’s session commence at 8:00hrs.
