Team cricket will be the key in CLT20 says Dowlin

Sep 11, 2010 Sports

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By Sean Devers in South Africa
In association with Digicel, Carib Beer, Cops
Security, Leisure Inn, Igloo Ice-Cream, Forest Enterprise,
Dave West Indian Grocery & Universal DVD Club

Travis Dowlin is enjoying a second life in his cricket career and is Guyana’s most successful T/20 batsman.
The solid DCC right-hander failed to deliver when used as an opener at the Test level but in the game’s shortest format he has consistently performed against the new ball bowlers for Guyana and has to play a key role here in South Africa if the Guyana Amazon Conquerors hope to emulate Trinidad and Tobago’s performance last year and reach the ‘final four’ stage of this year’s Champions League T20 competition.
Sewnarine Chattergoon is a compact batsman but the T20 format does not ideally suit his style which has put extra pressure on Dowlin during Guyana’s successful run in winning the Caribbean T20 competition in Trinidad last month to qualify for this trip.
While Derwin Christian and Chris Barnwell have both opened the batting for Guyana and Lennox Cush only recently scored a century for the USA in the ICC Division 4 tournament in Italy, Chattergoon is expected to start with Dowlin and will need to be positive.
Dowlin, who scored a match winning 60 against the Windward Islands in Guyana’s opening game of the Caribbean Championships in Barbados, will ideally want to ‘bat through’ the innings but he says he does not have a fixed role in the Guyana order and bats to suit the situation.
“I prefer to work the ball into the gaps and punish the bad balls but in T20 cricket you have to look to score all the time and I play according to the situation. I am a more orthodox batsman but if the other guy is not getting the ball away I have to try and take the attack to the bowlers,” Dowlin told Kaieteur Sport.

He said that team effort is more important in T20 cricket than any of the other formats since everyone needs to contribute if the team hopes to win. “We played excellent team cricket in the Caribbean Championships. When someone failed somebody else chipped in and (Jonathon) Foo being able to finish off the innings at the death with explosive scoring was also a key to our success,” the 34-year-old said.
A senior member of the side, Dowlin made his First-Class debut for Guyana in Grenada in 1997 but lost form and confidence with the responsibility of leading Guyana last year and was controversially dropped from the side.
A stylish middle order batsman, Dowlin has struggled as opener for Guyana and the West Indies in the longer version after the players strike last year propelled him onto the International arena against Bangladesh last year. Dowlin grabbed the unexpected opportunity to revive his career after being discarded by Guyana and batted well in both the Test and ODI series against Bangladesh and crowned his debut International series with a ODI ton.
He like the rest of the make-shift West Indies team was not as successful in the Champions Trophy in South Africa last year but scored a solid half-century against Australia in their backyard when he retained his place when the full strength West Indies team was picked.
A poor run after being sacrificed as opener against South Africa in the last home series saw him losing his place in the side and subsequently his central contract but he will know that in the last few years he has been able to accumulate some financial rewards for all his hard work for Guyana over the years.
A late call-up for the Stanford Super Stars which beat England in Antigua for US$20 million and the belated West Indies call-up ensured that the experienced batsman would ‘gain something’ substantial before his career was over.
A Hard worker, Dowlin is fitter than most players his age and still enjoys batting. He expects lots of short balls in South Africa and is mentally ready for the challenge.
“(Royston) Crandon and I were in South Africa when the West Indies last toured here while Sarwan is also experienced in the conditions. We have a young team but there is still enough experience with four players who have played Test cricket to carry our fight in this competition. Once we believe in our ability and remain mentally strong we could surprise a lot of people,” Dowlin said.
He said the pressure will be on the other teams in the group especially the two Indian sides because everybody expects them to advance to the semi-finals and Guyana are the underdogs.
“Last year nobody gave Trinidad (and Tobago) a chance and looked how well they performed. We have beaten them consistently in Regional T20 cricket and we have a great team spirit going for us and we are ready for this challenge,” Dowlin said.
“We are here to make Guyana and the West Indies people proud and it’s always an honour to represent your county but if we are honest then we would also admit that the massive prize money is also a big motivation,” Dowlin disclosed.
He feels that this (the money) could be a good thing since who wants it more could get it. He also pointed out that the huge first prize will inspire the team to play together because the money is there but the only way you can get it is by winning the whole thing.
‘While we know the opposition and conditions will be different from the Caribbean, we are ready for this, Dowlin said.
The South Americans face Royal Bangalore Challengers and Mumbai Indians in their first two games and will need to win at least one of them to have a realistic chance of getting to the semis.
The team has been working hard and the boys are all confident that they could shock the world.
There is a saying which goes “feed your faith and your doubt will starve to death’ and all Guyanese at home and abroad should show faith in this team as they look to conqueror all in the rainbow nation.

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