Guyana Jags Head Coach Esaun Crandon said he wants bigger goals being set and achieved personally by the players this season as they prepare to defend their Professional Cricket league (PCL) Four-Day tournament, in a month’s time.
Stabroek Sports spoke the ex-National all-rounder following his visit to Barbados for the coaches’ conference facilitated by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) as part of their drive to help further develop the franchise system which is currently entering its second season.
According to Crandon, the conference which was conducted by WICB head selector Clive Lloyd, West Indies Head Coach Phil Simmons and Director of Cricket Richard Pybus was geared towards ensuring that the six territories involved in the PCL franchise set up, achieved their common goals by being on the same page.
“It was basically to get all the coaches together to know what’s happening in the various franchises as well as what’s happening in Guyana and what our programme is like along with a few things they want to implement. They spoke about the alignment of programmes and of things which happen at the highest level that they want us to continue,” he added.
Some of the things mentioned were, video analysis a few technical areas such as developing fast-bowlers, the pitches and few other areas. Crandon said that he shared what was going on in Guyana as he is seeking to continue the winnings ways as well as producing more players for the West Indies this season.
From a personal perspective, Crandon said that he was really concerned about the goals his players were setting.
“Something I really want to look at is the mental aspect of our players and the goals, I’m really concerned about the players looking to set small goals they are not setting big goals they are setting for mediocracy. We just want to get that negative attitude out of the way and cultivate the right attitude and look to set yourself high standards, those are the things I’m most concerned with.”
As coach of the Guyana senior team for a few season now, Crandon wants to ensure that they continue the winning trait and also help to churn out more Guyanese for the West Indies team.
“We’re at this level here doing our jobs to prepare these guys for international cricket. Having said so, it’s a work in progress. We did well last year and we are trying to continue this year because we are not only looking to win but to produce players for the West Indies so people can judge us not only for winning but for producing West Indian players. “One thing I want this year I want to see from my players is for them to get out of the 400/500 runs thought. I want them to aim higher to get 800 or 1000 runs. I also want them to come out of 20 and 30 average and go for 40 or 50, also bowling and strike rate, picking up a lot of wickets.
“I think for our fast bowlers this year, I really want to see them dominate I know the wickets are not conducive but that’s where the skills as a bowler come in for the different surfaces where they will have to know how to adjust, bowl in the right areas and be patient”.
In all, Crandon said the conference reinforced his ambition to help the Jags retain their title as well as to help his talented bevy of players on their quest to wear the maroon colors someday soon. Meanwhile, Top End Performance Gym Instructor and motivational speaker Kezqweyah Yisrael conducted his seminar yesterday at the boardroom of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) office, Regent Street.
The session was interactive when necessary but was dominated by words of motivation and spirituality. Most of the players were seen paying keen attention as the facilitator touched on various topics which include fitness, being able to market oneself as a brand, life after cricket, wise business investments among other topics.
In the end, players seemed a bit more focus on their goals while all-rounder Steven Jacobs rose and gave a vote of thanks on behalf of the team. In an invited comment after the conclusion of the session, Crandon said that more sessions like that were needed to help the players improve and to think bigger about the future goals as he welcomed the idea of more sessions suck as the one conducted yesterday.
