Struggling Guyanese hunt success in One-Day tourney

Jul 30, 2009 Sports

---

By Sean Devers in Jamaica In association
with Digicel, TCL, Western Union, Smalta,
Pepsi &Demerara Power Company

After finishing only above the Windward Islands in the three-day version of the 2009 TCL Group Regional Under-19 cricket competition, Guyana now hunt success in the One-Day tournament, which starts here today.
The most dominant three-day team in the 41-year history of Regional youth cricket, Guyana’s inconsistent batting, bowlers who struggled to take wickets and a lack of mental fortitude, combined to produce one of their worst performances at this level.
The Guyanese now aim to salvage some pride by doing well in the limited overs competition (a format they have never won since it was introduced in 1998 in Trinidad) and their opening match today against the Leeward Islands at Chedwin Park in rural Jamaica could be a crucial game.
While opener Trevon Griffith scored the first ton in the three-day competition and finished with over 400 runs, inconsistency plagued the Guyanese. Jonathon Foo scored 3 fifties in the last of his three years at this level, Skipper Anthony Bramble made two half-centuries, while Jeetendra Sookdeo and Seon Hetmyer each registered a half-century, as Guyana’s discomfort to short pitched bowling was exposed on pitches which were much slower than anticipated.

Apart from the left-handed Griffith who hooked and pulled with authority, none of the other batsmen handled the short balls well, and the manner in which they were blown away by the consorted effort to ‘bounce’ them out by Barbados was as disappointing as it was worrying for a country that has produced great ‘hookers’ like Roy Fredericks, Alvin Kallicharran, Clive Lloyd and Andrew Lyght.
The Guyanese looked technically correct once the ball was pitched up but as soon as it was banged in short they ducked into the ball, fended it away or played half-hearted pulls to help orchestrate their demise. If something is not done to improve the docile pitches in Guyana, our batsmen will continue to struggle outside of the country. While Guyana picked four fast bowlers for the first time since the 1987 tournament here, the slow pitches in Guyana have also contributed to the lack of hostility shown by the Guyanese pacers.

While the opposition ‘peppered’ our batsmen with short balls, our pacers lacked the ‘fast bowler’s mentality’ and more often than not ‘pitched up’ only to be driven disdainfully.
Keon Joseph in particular troubled the batsmen when he bowled the bouncer, but generally his deliveries were too full or pounded in high over the batsman’s head and even the length of left-armer Andre Stoll and Seon Daniels (who looked the best of the Guyana pacers) was far too full. Joseph, arguable the quickest bowler in the competition when on song, beat the T&T batsmen with genuine pace in the final round game to capture his only five-wicket haul at this level, while Beaton also bowled fast to take four wickets in the T&T second innings, as the Twin Island Republic side, like Guyana, showed a weakness to genuine pace.
With all four pacers eligible for next year’s tournament, it is hoped that the Guyana Cricket Board implements a proper developmental programme to get them physically and mentally ready for next year’s competition.
As was expected the spin department was a major disappointment with part-timers Alex Amsterdam and Griffith forced to bowl extended spells.
Royston Alkins’ off-spin was a big disappointment, while leading spinner Totaram Bishun (who captured a 7-wicket haul against the Windwards) proved very inconsistent and struggled badly with his control in the last of his three years at this level.

He bowled so slowly that even when the batsmen were beaten by his ‘both-way turn’ they adjusted and played him comfortably off the back foot.
Left-arm spinner Antony Adams was more steady than destructive and the Guyana spinners turned the ball far less than their opponents on the same pitches.
This was a major worry for a country known for producing dominating spinners at this level.
A level-headed cricketer, Bramble’s captaincy was generally too defensive but the large number of bad balls delivered by his bowlers did not make it easy for him, while apart from Griffith, Bramble and Bishun, the attitude of the other senior players (Foo, Hetmyer, Joseph, Sookdeo, Alkins) suggested that they were more concerned with self preservation than team cricket.
While the coach and manager tried their best it was sad to see players with ability who seemed not to understand what it means to represent one’s country and who lacked the desire to ‘dig deep’ and fight under pressure.

There are things which the Guyana Cricket Board will have to seriously address, especially at a time when it is so easy to represent Guyana.
In fairness to the youngsters, the lack of turf practice at home, the sweltering heat here and the short recovery period between matches affected their performance.
Most of the Guyanese are already tired (more than half of the team have been ill at some point in the competition) and the biggest challenge now is to get them mentally prepared for five days of intense cricket in the One-Day competition.
Griffith, Foo, Bramble, Alkins and all-rounder Stoll have the ability to bat positively and if the others can bat around them, then Guyana could spring a surprise by dethroning defending One-Day champions Trinidad and Tobago, since their bowling is more suited to restricting the opposition than taking wickets regularly.
If Griffith (at the top) and Foo (in the middle) could play their natural game and the Guyanese can stay fit enough to back up their bowlers in the field, Guyana have a very good chance at winning their first ever TCL One-Day title.

The work of Joseph, Stoll, Daniels and back-up spinners Amsterdam and Griffith will also be important in the One-Day format.
How much the Guyanese desire success is important and the fact that a West Indies team is being selected for the senior Regional One-Day tournament in Guyana this year and for the 2010 Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand should be added incentive for the teenagers.
The One-Day competition will be played with white balls and coloured clothes and matches commence at 09:30hrs local time.

---

---