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Onward Champions!

Sep 02, 2010 Editorial

Last weekend, the Guyana T-20 team had a taste of what their success in winning the Caribbean T-20 Championship means – at least to the people of Guyana.
Both warm-up games against T&T were sold out as entire families, many with babes in arms, thronged the National Stadium to urge on their “boys” for the struggle ahead – as the representatives of the West Indies at the Champions League T-20 in South Africa.
With their very visible presence at the last game, the President and the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport signalled and symbolised the hopes and aspirations that ride on the shoulders of our young heroes in green and yellow.
And heroes they are. They were counted down and out in the closing overs of the championship match against powerhouse Barbados. Surely with only 19 balls to go; eight wickets down and still needing 50 runs, victory was beyond hope, much less reach.
But Guyana rallied under the leadership of the youngest member of the team – teenager Jonathan Foo. Displaying a calmness, concentration and maturity that belied his years, young Foo unleashed a barrage of clean power hitting that left the T&T spectators agape, and Guyana, the exultant winner.
And a new hero was born. This was very clear from the reaction of the mammoth crowds at the stadium: his every appearance was greeted with rapturous applause. Never mind the beer-can that greeted his dismissal in the first game – that was simply the frustrated, if uncouth, gesture of the fan that has pinned so much expectation on the new protagonist. And it is of not little consequence that this young champion is of Chinese descent.
In a country and a region famed for our polyglot populace, a Chinese-descended cricketer – and a swashbuckling one at that – has destroyed many a stereotype.
The mind boggles at what will happen if he plays true to form (as he did in the second game with 3 fours and a six in his nine-ball 24) in South Africa.
But success in South Africa will not be in the same league as that against T&T – even if the latter’s inflated egos still cannot accept their repeated defeats at the hands of Guyana – and the entire team will have to raise their performances to a whole new level.
To proceed into the second round, Guyana will have to win at least two of the four games in the first round: against Royal Challengers Bangalore (India), Mumbai Indians (India), South Australia (Australia) and the Highveld Lions (South Africa).
Each of the first three teams has a world-class pace bowler – Dale Steyn, Lasith Malinga and Shaun Tait. This means that the four in our top order – Dowlin, Chattergoon, Sarwan and Deonarine, all of whom have been capped by the West Indies team – have to pull their weight.
Chattergoon, especially, has to dig deep within himself to fulfil his early promise. Bishoo and Cush were the top bowlers in the Caribbean Championship (with the former copping the Man of the Series award) and should not be awed by the big names such as Dravid and Kallis (Bangalore) or Tendulkar (Mumbai).
Our bowlers will have to remain calm – and much will depend on the captain and other senior players to calm frayed nerves – such as was on display in last Sunday’s game, with its surfeit of wides.
We do not wish to place too much pressure on the team that will depart in a week. Each member already knows that when the chips are down they have it within themselves to do what is necessary to emerge victorious.
It is now all in the mind. It is not a cliché to say that cricket is a team game: it is a fact. Everyone must play the role that has been given to him and if this is done the rewards, we all know, will be enormous. Not just for the players, but in truth, for our entire country that has been denied respect for so long.
Make us proud and may you conquer the heavens ahead.

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