Guyana U17 Captain Sachin Singh and Coach Orin Bailey have agreed that it was a shortage of runs in the final match against Barbados that cost them their maiden title in the Cricket West Indies Regional Under-17 tournament which ended Tuesday. Guyana finished third after losing by six wickets to eventual winners, Barbados in their final encounter despite being in the lead position heading into the last round.
Speaking to Stabroek Sport following the team’s return to Guyana yesterday, Singh said that he felt that overall, the players did well, adding that although they lost their opening round match to the Windward Islands, the team was at the top of the table after the penultimate round with three wins.
The charismatic skipper commended the players for their efforts while simultaneously expressing his disappointment at not lifting the title for the first time.
Bailey said he fully supported Singh’s position adding that the players played well but the final execution was not there.
“When we started I knew for sure the guys wouldn’t put in the type of performance that we wanted because we went in to the tournament with little preparation but after the first game and working out the niggles and the naggles I knew for sure we were going to be competitive.
“But having said that, getting into the last game where we were five points ahead of everybody, we still needed a win to secure the trophy and everyone was tense because of the situation we were in but it so happen Barbados played an excellent game,” Bailey said. Singh added that the runs, 181, was way below par on a batting track despite being their highest total of the competition, a point that Bailey also agreed with.
“We thought the runs was not enough. It was a batting track and we didn’t get enough runs,” Singh said. The captain was especially hard on himself, stating that he needed to get more runs in order to help his team as well as the rest of the top order.
A puzzling issue was the persistent use of Yeudister Persaud despite the calls for him to be replaced in the playing XI.
Singh said that Persaud was the frontline wicketkeeper and that was evident in him emerging as the wicketkeeper with the most dismissals at the end of the tournament.
With respect to his batting Singh said: “We knew what he is capable of and we were hoping that he would fire but it was not the case.” Bailey also stated that Persaud was the best ‘keeper in the side, pointing out that the bench strength was not there.
Concerning the abrupt bowling change in the deciding match, Singh said it was something different to use Dwain Dick instead of the two pacers to open the bowling while Bailey justified the move stating that Barbados are accustomed to pace bowling which prompted the move to switch things up.
He added that the move to bring the spinners on early proved its worth with Nigel Deodat coming good with the wickets.
Deodat finished second on the list of leading wicket takers, only one wicket behind the front runner.
Deodat said it was good to be able to contribute to his team’s efforts despite the team not being able to bring home the title.
He is aiming to become the leading wicket taker next years since he will again be eligible.
Bailey suggested that next year he hopes that the best representative players at this level will be selected to as to be better able to bring home the title.
