With the opening game of the 2014 Limacol Caribbean Premier League (LCPL) T20 tournament under its belt, the Guyana Amazon Warriors is fancying its chances of going all the way.
Stabroek Sport sought feedback from the local cricket fraternity about the side’s chances in this year’s competition.
Alfred Mentore – President of the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) : “I think Guyana has a very good chance of reaching the finals. I hope they cross the line this time around. They had almost the same team as they did last year and a team is always better than a group of players, these guys know each other and it’s healthy for Guyana’s chances playing as a unit instead of a group of players.”
Wintz- Demerara Cricket Club (DCC), Guyana National Pacer: “I think that the team has talent. I’m not sure what the starting eleven will be like but with the likes of (Chris) Barnwell, (Lendl) Simmons, (Mohammad) Hafeez, with Corey Anderson out and James Neesham in, along with the newcomers in the team who I’m not sure if they all will play, I feel they stand a good fighting chance as a well-rounded team and they should progress.”
Raj Nannan- George-town Cricket Club (GCC), former youth leg-spinner: “I think Guyana should be one of the tournament favourites, with the exception of (Leon Johnson) “Johno” and Robin (Bacchus) who are making their debut. For the internationals they have two of the best spinners in Sunil Narine and (Mohammed) Hafeez; they also have West Indies Captain Denesh Ramdin, I think they are the favourite. Last year they had a few mistakes but they should do well again this year.”
Ryan Ramdass- former Guyana and West Indies Test Opener: “I think Guyana have a better chance than the other countries. We have quality players, we have (Mohammed) Hafeez and Chris (Barnwell) he is one of the cleanest hitters in the country and Caribbean in the 20/20 version. We have Sunil Narine and the Captain Denesh Ramdin as well so I wish the Warriors the best. I think they will do well and I know they can win the tournament.”
Rajiv Ivan- Berbice and National All-rounder: “I think they should keep focus even if they fall apart during the tournament and work hard to reach the finals. I think they got a good team to make it to the finals they just need to be committed to the game. [Also] I think the overseas players will play a big part in the team, the likes such as Lendl Simmons and Sunil Narine and others who play international and regional cricket could share experience with the other players so they can work as a unit and win.”
Vishaul Singh- Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) and National middle-order batsman: “I think Guyana has a good chance of winning. They retained the same team from last year… the guys that went to the finals can share their experience with the other players and bring about the same balance. A few players are out and they were replaced with similar players so they retained the same positions within the team. I think they will go all the way to the finals, you could play well in the tournament but whoever plays well in the finals will win and as a Guyanese I would want to see that happen.”