Skipper of the Guyana Under-17 cricket team Sheldon Charles has blamed poor batting and execution for the team’s performance at the just-concluded Regional tournament.
Guyana for first time finished at the bottom-of-the-table, unable to register a victory after losing four matches and suffering a washed out last round contest.
There has been heavy criticism from the public about the selection policies with players reportedly earning spots in the side despite poor performances in the local competition while players who had done better were overlooked.
In the opening match Guyana was bowled out for 91 against hosts, Trinidad and Tobago. Against the eventual champions, Guyana posted 141 but Barbados raced to 142-3 in 36 overs.
When they faced Jamaica, they were dismissed for 99 in a chase of 105 while against Windward Islands they struggled to score, eventually crawling to 65-7 in pursuit of 150 in 25 overs according to the Duckworth Lewis and Stern (DLS) Method.
“We didn’t execute at our best as a unit,” Charles admitted while describing the performance as “very poor.”
Charles singled out the batting department as one of their major concerns while crediting the bowling and fielding for decent performances.
In the four matches, the bowling unit managed 22 wickets, only once dismissing a side with Charles having the best figures for the side with 4-26 against Jamaica.
Matthew Nandu secured the lone half century for the team, scoring 71 against Barbados while the next best score of 46 came from Mavindra Dindyal in the opening match.
Charles said that he was disappointed with the interruption of matches due to rain, noting that it consequently added moisture to the pitch and made it difficult to bat but said that he was not blaming the wicket or the weather for their poor batting.
The captain was hopeful of the unit taking some valuable experience from the tournament for next year’s tournament.
He also credited the hard work of the other teams for their success.
