Olympics Athletics Coach Lyndon Wilson loves cricket more than Athletics (Part 1)

Jul 23, 2020 Sports

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By Sean Devers

“Cricket is my number one sport. If there is cricket on TV on one Channel and Athletics on another, you bet I would be watching cricket,” these were words of fifty-one-year-old three times AAG’s Coach of the year, Sergeant Lyndon Wilson, the National Athletics Coach who was Guyana’s Head Coach at the 2012 London Olympics.

Very surprising, most would say, since it was because of his involvement in Athletics that Wilson has had the opportunity to visit many countries, see many state-of-the-Art Athletics Stadiums and meet some prominent people.
But what many don’t know is that Wilson was a good enough pacer to be invited to National youth trials in 1986, 1987 and 1988 and bowled to Carl Hooper, Keith Semple, Nolan McKenzie, Paul Persaud and the late Neezam Hafiz in those trial games.
In 1988 when we went to Barbados, Calvin Belgrave just ‘pipped’ him for the fast bowling spot in the Guyana U-19 team.
Wilson is also a qualified Cricket Coach, an International Cricket scorer and a former Police first division pacer.
In 2009 Wilson was selected as fitness Trainer for the Guyana First-Class team when Ravendranath Seeram was head Coach and helped with some coaching also.
Wilson was accredited as an Athletics Coach in 1996 and passed his level 1 cricket coaching course the same year.
In 1997, despite his inexperience, he was appointed Head Coach for Team Guyana at inter-Guiana Games.
Wilson, also a Sports Administrator, spoke about how he became an Athletics Coach, the build-up behind his surprise appointment as Head Coach for the Olympics and how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted him.
He also spoke of his disappointment with maintenance of the National Athletics Stadium at Lenora West Demerara during this two-part feature.
Wilson was born on December 18, 1968 and grew up on the East Coast Demerara in the Village of Mahaica.
He attended Helena Nursery, Helena Primary and the Bygeval Secondary school and was obsessed with sports from the time he could walk.
Wilson is the second of five children (3 boys and 2 girls) born to Charles and Marva Wilson and played every sport at school.

“I got interested in running at Nursery school. We would get crayons, rulers, snacks and sweets and little gifts when we won and I would win most of the times.
In Secondary school we had more sports options, “I participated in athletics, cricket, volleyball, Basketball, football, hockey and table tennis. Sports was in my genes,” said Wilson.
He said life growing up, he was always very active and very sports orientated, adding that in those days’ schools had a sports term. He was not only very active on the field of play since was married twice and is the father of 21 children.
“I was the spectacle to my Village as a little boy walking around with my trophies and Medals I had just won and I was proud of my achievements. Yes, I also balanced my education and sports activities. As a youngster growing up I always believed in balancing the two,” informed Wilson, who resides in Mahaica although he works in the City.
“I grew up in the country and always loved running. One of our main objectives when we were coming home from school was run and to catch those tractors that would go to rice fields or farm lands and most of the times I would get there first and jump on the Trailer.
There were so much challenges in the Village. We had to go the next Village to fetch water and I would run

to reach the pipe first since there were many others there to get their bucket filled,” Wilson informed.
Wilson began as a wicket-keeper and off-spinner but Ex West Indies pacer Colin Croft, Ex West Indies Keeper Milton Pydanna and Ex Guyana Keeper Sidney Jackman changed him into a pacer because of his height.
“In those days International and National players would be sent to coach in schools. I would bat at number four and bowl first change.
I liked pace bowling and wanted to be like Colin Croft and Michael Holding but I began to pattern myself after Australian swing bowler Terry Alderman since I used to swing the ball both ways but mostly an out swinger.
I played for Jonestown Youth Club as Captain in Mahaica and played one third division match for GCC and one for DCC when Colin Alfred was Captain,” Wilson disclosed.
His interest for Cricket and Athletics stemmed from his strong background in sports as a little boy.
“Sports keeps you fit and healthy it brings joy to you when you do well. Cricket is my number one sport although most people know me from running and coaching Athletics for a long time.

I had a little yellow transistor Radio since I was four…five, I was listening cricket when Sobers was playing, I knew about Clive Lloyd even before I ever saw him.
I would be in school when West Indies were playing and bend my head close to the desk to listen to the score and when the teacher (Miss Chan) asked why was I bending so low I would tell her that I was seeing the blackboard better since I had eye-problems; and she bought it.
One day she came over and caught me listening to cricket and did not impose any punishment on me because she wanted to know the score. It was the 1975 World Cup semi-finals and when I told her the score she belted out ‘We will be in the finals…We will be in the finals’ and I was so amazed,” Wilson remembered with a chuckle.
Wilson played his first competition at 15 in the Eddy Grant U-16 tournament on the East Coast as Jonestown Youth Club Captain.
“That’s where I first saw Chanderpaul as an eight-year-old playing for Unity and since then I knew he was Test material and up to now we are good friends. I scored 84 and took 4-34 and that match was my most memorable U 16 game.
“I joined the Guyana Police Force in March 27, 1987 just after leaving school. I worked for two months at the National Sports Council on Brickdam when Hamilton Green was the Sports Minister.
At Police my good friend Bharrat Mangru said if I bowled in-swingers I would get more LBWs and so we worked on that until I almost forgot how to get the ball to go away.
I played third, second and first division for Police but since they were so much batsmen ahead of me I began paying more interest on my bowling,” added Wilson.
He got involved in scoring when he joined Police. “If I was the 12th, 13th or 14th man I did not like running out with the water so I would pick up the scorebook.
The late Rudolph Haynes (former first-class Umpire) played an important role in me being a scorer. He taught me all about scoring so later when I became an International scorer I knew exactly what to do if I was the official scorer or the Radio scorer. We used the Boxhill book, which is very detailed and entails more concentration. Scoring with the computer is much easier.
The thing I developed most from scoring was concentration. I remained focused and was not distracted or got frustrated even when there was lots of noise. I have scored 13 Test matches and close to 20 ODIs and countless regional and local inter-county matches,” explained Wilson.
The first time the young Cop scored an International match was in 1992 when Patrick Patterson hit Pakistani’s Mudassar Nazar’s helmet and got six leg-byes.
At age 20 Wilson scored for GBC Radio when Niam Chan did commentary in the 1989 Regional U-19 tournament in Guyana.
Not being selected for Guyana in his final year at youth level broke his spirt and he never played with the same interest.
“I loved cricket and felt I could go on to play for the West Indies if the selectors at the time were more open minded and did not look at special clubs and where you came from. I think I would have been a part of the Guyana team at a young age when I was called to trials and that put me back a bit and I no longer took it serious and just played for the love of it and not to go higher.
I got frustrated and there was nobody around to talk me out of that psychological effect. I had to battle those feelings as a little boy all by myself. My father was busy working to provide for the family so I don’t blame him.
The senior players at Jonestown Youth Club like the Nichols brothers and lots of others who were involved in Guyana’s cricket were not that interactive, they would talk to you about cricket but not about what was affecting you psychologically or advise you to stay focus and explain what you should do mentally in such situations,” Wilson lamented.
At age 24 he made his first division debut for Police against DCC under the Captaincy of Wayne Jackson and played against McKenzie, the late Andre Lyght, Lynden Joseph, the late Lennox Hunte and Semple.
“We lost that game but I batted for over two hours without scoring a run. When I walked to crease Police needed 87 to win and Mark Crandon said to me ‘just block’ and was giving me the last ball of the over to bat. DCC won by 22 runs.
I remember that game because of the way we fought and thought if the top order had shown fight we would have won. Joseph bowled me one that was in Donovan Matthews’ gloves before I had played a shot…. he was the fastest bowler I have faced.
Another Memorable first division game for me was when I got Chanderpaul caught at gully for 33 at Malteenoes off the fourth ball of the over. I got so excited with dismissing a Test batsman that I went down to fine-leg thinking that the over was done and wondered why nobody was changing positions to the amusement of everyone.
In those days first division cricket was like a Test match with very large crowds and car drivers stopping on the road to watch,” continued Wilson who disclosed that Clayton Lambert was the most difficult batsman he has bowled to.
Wilson said he got into coaching when he lost the interest to move his cricket to a higher level and wanted to give back to cricket since he loved coaching.
A leg-injury which put his Athletics career on hold for almost a year, prompted Wilson become a level 1 cricket Coach in 1996 just after he had passed his Athletics Coaching Course.
He used his Athletic Training to help Police pacer Trevor Benn make the Guyana Senior Squad and also helped Chris Barnwell and Derwin Christian get fit.
“I was not given an opportunity to Coach at Police since I was seen more as a physical trainer. I Coached the Police female team after Eddy Nichols and the late Daniel Richmond were transferred and Karen Cort, Dianne Ferrier-James and Abena Parker made the Guyana Team.
But female cricket died out and I could not get past the Coaches at Police at that time. Among the Coaches at Police at time were National U-19 Coach the late William Jeffery, and National Youth Coaches Wayne Jackson and Bharat Mangru.
“In 2011 Ramesh Sunich brought his Trophy Stall female softball team for me to Coach and they won two tournaments including the GTT 10-10 title which was my most memorable time as a Cricket Coach with June Ogle and Kavita Yadram from that team playing for Guyana in hardball cricket,” Wilson concluded.
In part two, Wilson, a 200 and 400 meters’ runner and Long Jumper, explains why he quit Athletics and how he became an Athletics Coach.

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