SA trip would be a waste of time if changes are not made

Sep 25, 2010 Sports

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Chetram Singh

By Sean Devers in South Africa
In association with Digicel, Carib Beer,
Leisure Inn, Igloo Ice-Cream, Forest Enterprise,
Cops Security, the Caribbean Market (Maryland) &
Universal DVD Club

After all the hype and support given to the Guyana cricket team from near and far the Amazon Conquerors were conquered in each of the four games they played in the Champions League T20 cricket tournament in South Africa.
This trip to the rainbow nation exposed several areas of concern for not only Guyana’s cricket but for the game in the West Indies and if Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) President and WICB Director Chetram Singh does not highlight the reasons which contributed to Guyana’s demise to the GCB and WICB for corrective measures to be implemented, he would not have justified his trip here.
Guyana was the better team on the day in the Caribbean Championships and deserved to be here by virtue of winning that competition and maybe if the tournament was played in India where Trinidad and Tobago did so well last year, the Guyanese would have feared better because of the flat pitches and much warmer conditions there.
The Champions League is now over for Guyana and the focus should be on assembling a winning combination for next month’s Regional One-Day competition in Jamaica. As Guyana prepare for the 50-overs competition the lessons learnt from the South Africa trip should not be lost.
It is imperative that measurers are put in place to ensure that if Guyana qualifies next year, the players are better mentally prepared.
This was a major problem in South Africa and most of the players seemed to have gotten stage fright in their opening game and performed way below expectations.

Apart from Skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan, who was on his 7th trip to South Africa and to a lesser extent Sewnarine Chattergoon, Travis Dowlin, Narsingh Deonarine and Royston Crandon (the other players in the squad with senior West Indies team experience) the players looked overawed by the large raucous crowd and ‘big’ name players in the Royal Challengers Bangalore side.
When the team which (unlike some of the other ‘big’ teams) had no practice match before their opening game, got to Durban for their 2nd match the place turned from very hot to extremely cold overnight and they lost to the Mumbai Indians.  But this was an improved performance and at one stage the Mumbai Indians were 99-3 off 15 overs before Kieron Pollard exploded with an unbeaten 30-ball 70.
Bishoo in particular bowled well in the middle overs and had the great Sachin Tendulkar stumped for one of his 3 wickets but with the experienced Lennox Cush strangely dropped, pace was used for the last 3 overs and cost plenty.
Back in Johannesburg, the technical staff amazingly opted to again open with Chattergoon and Dowlin, who never got into T20 mode, and lost to the Lions of South Africa.
Steven Jacobs picked due to an ankle injury to Narsingh Deonarine, who also was a major let down, batted positively for 34 from 37 balls but only Sarwan (21) of the other batsmen reached 20.
The weak Guyana bowling was savaged as the hosts won with ease. With just pride to play for in their final match, Chattergoon was finally left out but Dowlin again asked to open with debutant Richard Ramdeen. Dowlin again failed but Ramdeen impressed with an attacking 22-ball 35 and Sarwan, who seemed affected by the controversy surrounding his surprising Contract snub by the WICB, showed his class with a masterful 70.

But while Jacobs again looked aggressive in 32 from just 19 balls, the much hyped up Jonathon Foo, Chris Barnwell and Derwin Christian failed to fire.
It was always going to be difficult chasing 192 to win but the coaching staff again failed to bat, Cush (who finished unbeaten for the 2nd consecutive time with another little cameo) higher in the order as Guyana lost by 15 runs.
Guyana’s batting improved as the tournament progressed and the players got more used to the conditions. The GCB must understand the importance of practice matches in the tournament country to give the players a chance to acclimatize.
With the poor showing of senior players Chattergoon, Dowlin, Royston Crandon and Deonarine, Sarwan had to shoulder too much of the batting burden and although T20 is not his ideal format, his 46, 21 and 70 in the last three matches proved he is easily among the best 3 batmen in the West indies.
Sarwan at times seemed agitated off the field as the pressure of a failing team, disagreements with the coach over tactics and his own very public confrontation with the WICB, seemed to be taking its toll.
His captaincy in the Caribbean Cup was brilliant but here eyebrows were at times raised with his bowling changes while the batting order was Guyana’s biggest problem after the conditions and bouncy pitches.
Ravindra Seeram’s introverted personality affects his role as coach with this team and his level 1 certification is a handicap for coaching at this level.
There are some among the non-playing tour party who supported his appointment above Roger Harper because of sentiments and emotions but if the best qualified person for the job is not chosen questions must be asked.
Most of the players are inexperienced but they must take responsibility for their personal development if they want to make cricket a career and can’t expect to be spoon fed at this level.
T&T performed well last year mainly due to the presence of IPL pair Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo but also due to the leadership of Daren Ganga and the desire of the players to win for T&T.
There were few times here when the Guyanese looked confident and enjoying their cricket and more emphasis must be placed on mental preparation in the future.  A few weeks encampment before such an event is not sufficient preparation and in this regard the WICB must take blame for not playing their regional tournament longer before the commencement of the Champions League.
While adjusting to the high altitude, thin air and cold conditions could have been aided by arriving here earlier, the batsmen’s discomfort on bouncy pitches continues to be a West Indian problem and unless drastic measures are taken to get better pitches at home our batsmen will continue to struggle outside of the Caribbean.
The slow and low pitches in the West Indies is a major contributing factor to our demise since not only does it prevent batsmen from being good hookers and cutters but it also hampers the development of fast bowlers.
At club and even regional level, pacers are ignored for almost all-spin attacks in the interest of winning, since most West Indians don’t play spin well and the pitches don’t assist the quickies.
The pitches here caused all sorts of problems for the batsmen with Foo, who grew up on the ‘graveyard dead’ pitches at Albion, being as major causality.
If Seeram is not forceful enough and seemed to lack the respect of the players, Manager Carl Moore is also too ‘soft’ although well meaning and allowed senior players to ‘get away’ with indiscipline, especially during the last regional one-day tournament.
A complete restructuring of Guyana’s cricket is needed and this must start from next month’s tournament in Jamaica. It cannot be business as usual while Guyana continues to be embarrassed.
It is not clear what Singh’s role was in South Africa but Chairman of selectors Claude Raphael would have seen first hand what transpired and should invest in young blood for Jamaica.
Shiv Chanderpaul should be back and could be asked to open with Ramdeen; leaving no space for Chattergoon and Dowlin. With young guns, Jacobs, Assad Fudadin, Vishaul Singh, Gajanand Singh, Leon Johnson and Chris Barnwell all vying for middle order spots after Sarwan at number 3, Deonarine could also be asked to work on his form and fitness to reclaim his place in the 4-day team.
The Crandon brothers have also not stepped up as senior players and with Barnwell and Paul Wintz capable of sharing the new ball in 50-over cricket, they could both be left out. Derwin Christian’s consistent ‘caught in the deep’ mode of dismissal could also leave his place in the balance.
Guyana could be robbed of the services of Veerasammy Permaul and Rajendra Chandrika because of their alliance with the HPC team and off-spinner Zaheer Mohamed could come into contention for the 50-overs team. If Chanderpaul does not open, Shemroy Barrington could be a contender.
GCB secretary Anand Sanasie worked hard as the team’s media contact and also assisted Moore (who was ill) with logistical duties.  The GCB will no doubt review the performance of the Video Analyst and trainer as they pick the party for Jamaica.
This tournament showed how far behind the rest of the world West Indies cricket is and it is hoped that the players learnt from this experience. It is imperative that the GCB executives work TOGETHER to develop Guyana’s cricket or be replaced.
Apart from the experience hopefully gained by the players, the positive of this tour was the exposure Guyana as a country got. Thousands of people now know Guyana exists because of the participation of the Amazon Conquerors.
The Guyana Government offered exclusive sponsorship for the team and it is hoped that it will remain committed to the improvement and success of the national cricket team even when the chance of world wide exposure and winning or political points, are not major rewards.
The 2010 Champions League has come and gone for Guyana but the future is ahead. The type of changes made due to the South Africa experience could decide if that future is bright or condemn Guyana’s cricket to total irrelevance.

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