Body language was a problem says Coach Seeram

Sep 13, 2010 Sports

Weather badly affecting Guyana team

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

After all the hype and an outpouring of national support from at home and abroad the Guyana Amazon Conquerors made an inauspicious start to the Airtel Champions League here in South Africa when they were hammered by IPL side Royal Bangalore Challengers by 9 wickets yesterday.
As Ravi Shastri said at the presentation the Guyanese were outplayed in every department in cold conditions under the lights yesterday and although Chris Barnwell top scored with 30 from 35 balls, none of the batsmen achieved a strike rate of 100 on a good batting track.

Rabindra Seeram

Guyana’s 103 all out in 20 overs was never going to be enough against the strong crop of International stars for the Indian side and Coach Ravindra Seeram told Kaieteur Sport after the game that the batting, which he feels is Guyana’s strength, just did not deliver.
The openers were never allowed to capitalize on the first 6-over power-play period and once Ramnaresh Sarwan tried to dab a ball to close to him to third man after hitting a six off the previous and was bowled by Jacque Kallis, the innings went into terminal decline.
“We did not stick to the plan at all and got bogged down. We batted badly today and wasted too many dot balls. We spoke about the extra pace and bounce in the pitches that we would face here but while there was a bit of bounce the pitch was a really good one to bat on and we lost the game long before it was over because of the way we batted,” Seeram said.
Skipper Sarwan said it was a bad start from a team capable of far better performances than yesterday’s and said the inexperience of the players in the team could have contributed to Guyana’s demise. “These are inexperienced players and this is the biggest match with the biggest crowd they would have ever played in but yes we should have done a lot better with the bat but now we have to learn from today (Sunday) and try to improve in our next games,” Sarwan said.
Seeram, a former Guyana First-Class batsman said the pitch was well suited for batting but feels the cold weather here and nervousness could have played a role in Guyana’s poor showing. “Yeah…maybe the guys were nervous. The body language since in the practice sessions and warm-ups yesterday did not look too good. It cold and about five of the guys are down with the flu due to the weather,” Seeram explained.
“This is all new to most of the guys and now that our first game is out of the way I hope this can build us up since we need to win our next three games instead of breaking us down. The guys played way below their standard today (Sunday) and I think the conditions and atmosphere played a part,” Seeram added.
The Guyanese took a long time to come on the field to warm up before their game and most of tem looked overwhelmed by the occasion just before the start of play as the 20,000 plus crowd of mostly Indian flag-waving supporters began to make a lot of noise in the stands.
“We spoke about this (atmosphere at the grounds) at team meetings and we knew we would be playing before massive crowds. We also spoke about playing eleven versus eleven and to forget about the big name players and come out and be positive and enjoy the cricket. I guess we panicked a bit yesterday after Sarwan got out,” Seeram said.

Canada-based Guyanese fans Faz (left) and Ken proudly show their Guyana flag at Centurion Park yesterday.

Guyana’s next game is on Thursday against Sachin Tendulkar’s Mumbai Indians in Durban where the capacity is three times larger than at Centurion where Guyana played yesterday and where most of the Indians in South Africa reside and the noise is expected to be deafening.
“We had a talk after the game and we knew we played badly. We have a few days to work on our flaws and one of them is that we are allowing too many dot balls and not turning over the strike enough. That was a problem even in the Caribbean Cup. We have to bat well to win matches. We also spoke about lifting ourselves since if the young guys want to become International players they have to learn to cope with large crowds, strange conditions and pressure. This is a good learning experience and I hope they are learning,” Seeram said.
“We have got to be a lot more positive when we bat and the guys know that we have to win the remaining games to reach the semi-finals so we will have a few days before in Durban and try to focus on being positive and believing that we can do this.
Today (Sunday) was a big game….the lights, fireworks, the people, the TV….the Indian teams are accustomed to this. I don’t think the guys will be too nervous in the next games since they have now experienced what it is like to play here,” Seeram opined.
Faz and Ken travelled all the way from Canada to support the team and both expressed disappointment in not that Guyana lost but that they lacked any real fight and seemed out of the match for the 2nd over.
“The batsmen never even tried to counter attack… this is 20/20 cricket and they were so defensive. Sarwan did not need to try to steer that ball when he did since he is the one who has to bat through the innings,” Faz said.
Ken felt that Jonathon Foo should have been sent earlier since leaving him too late could force him to slog from the start of his innings. “This is different conditions from the Caribbean and we have to think different. Dowlin struggles against Steyn and maybe Sarwan should have opened in this match,” Faz opined.
Roy, another Guyanese who lived in England since the early 1970 before moving to live in South Africa about 8 years ago said it was good to see his countrymen play in such a big tournament but that they must have more mental preparation if they hope to be successful on the world stage.
“The guys have talent but from what I saw today they got stage fright and the occasion was too big for them. They have to understand that millions of Guyanese around the world are proud of them and we don’t mind if they lose but they have to show fight and that was not seen today (Sunday),” Roy said.
“Everyone was longing to see them play and could not wait for today’s (Sunday) game. It was sad they way they lost… like they just give up….everybody fail …I at least expected someone to step up….Even Foo could not hit the ball. We are still behind them but if we lose the other team must fight for their win,” one of the girls working at the Guyana Cricket Board told Kaieteur Sport from Guyana yesterday.
Coach Seeram explained that heat warmers have been bought for the players and they all understand that it’s now a do or die effort in the other games after a very poor showing in their first match.
“The Guys understand how important our performance is to everyone and we expect a big improvement in the next game because we can still reach the semi-finals” Seeram concluded.