Latest update April 11th, 2025 9:20 AM
CWI Regional U17 tourney… Guyana face Leeward Islands at Brian Lara Stadium today
By Zaheer Mohamed in Trinidad and Tobago
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Coach Orin bailey makes a point to his fast bowlers during practice. (Zaheer Mohamed photo)
The adage ‘regardless of how much talent one team has, the team that plays better on the day will come out successful’ was evident in Guyana’s 59-run defeat to the Windward Islands in the opening round on Monday at National Cricket Centre (NCC).
However, the Guyanese will look to rebound when they take on Leeward Islands at the Brian Lara Stadium in South Trinidad as the Cricket West Indies Regional U17 50-over tournament continues today.
The Guyanese had a practice session at the said venue yesterday and Coach Orin Bailey will be looking for an improved performance from his charges.
Guyana’s fielding looked way below par in their opening encounter with balls easily eluding the fielders on its way to the boundary while the bowling was inconsistent. Even though the team participated in the Guyana Cricket Board inter county U19 tournament in April, their performance in the first round seemed as if they lacked preparation. However, the team has the ability to better their performance but must get the basics right and execute on the day.
Guyana defeated the Leeward Islands by one run when they met last year in a game that was affected by rain at this venue. Skipper Sachin Singh and Seon Glasgow looked in fine touch in their first game with half centuries and again a lot is expected from them. Singh and Navindra Persaud gave their team a decent start in their chase, but following the departure of Singh, the run rate declined. Dwain Dick, Nigel Deodat, Yeudistir Persaud, Leon Swami and Andre Seepersaud have the capability to set decent totals, but the bowlers must play their part as well.
Pacer Silvan Williams picked up a wicket in his first over and Guyana seemed in control as they restricted the Islanders to 45-3, but then a double century stand by Terry Bishop and Garvin Serieux, which was assisted by the below par bowling and fielding turned the game.
Leg spinner Niran Bissu can pose problems for the opposition, however he has to bowl with control as his line and length was off target on Monday. Spinners Deodat, Seepersaud, Dick and Glasgow must improve with their consistency for Guyana to limit the opposition batting taking into consideration Leeward Islands tend to struggle against the slow bowlers somewhat. Apart from Sheldon and Charles and Williams, the other pacers bowled way too short on the pitch tailor-made for batting at the NCC.
The pitch at the Brain Lara Stadium has some grass which may provide early help for the pacers, but otherwise it is expected to be good for batting.
Speaking with Kaieteur Sport, Guyana’s Coach Orin Bailey said he is looking forward to an improved performance, especially from his bowlers. He noted that due to the lack of preparation for the game they didn’t get to put out the necessary work that was needed heading into the competition. “Most of the players were rusty, just a few of them were preparing themselves and those are the ones who contributed. Even though we had a programme in place to keep the players active and asked that the players be supervised it was evident that most of the players weren’t following the programme during the break which he said was too lengthy following the inter- county tournament,” he added.
Bailey, a former first class batsman, stated that the batters gave a good account of themselves even though they didn’t succeed in the chase. “We had a decent start to the chase but didn’t capitalise, however I am positive that the players will give a better account of themselves in the second and subsequent rounds,” he posited. Play stars at 09:30hrs.
Teams: Guyana – Sachin Singh (Capt.), Andre Seepersaud (Vice Capt.), Dwain Dick, Navindra Persaud, Leon Swami, Badesh Parsotam, Hrithik Singh, Gevon Schultz, Sheldon Charles, Silvan Williams, Nigel Deodat, Niran Bissu, Seon Glasgow and Yeudistir Persaud: Orin Bailey coach and Nazeer Mohamed manager.
Leeward Islands – Rasheem (Capt.), Demari Benta, Clinton Reece, Jahiem Africa, Kenny Sutton, Hilroy Andrew, Jaylen Francis, Antonio Fernandes, Taeiem Tonge, Aidan Livan, Kelvin Pitman, Tariq Newman, Essan Warner and Solomon Gokrran: Steve Liburd Coach and Rishi Singh manager.
In other action today, the Windward Islands will take on Barbados at Gilbert Park and Trinidad and Tobago will battle Jamaica at NCC.
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