Latest update October 4th, 2024 6:23 PM
Jul 19, 2024 Sports
Kaieteur Sports – 2024 CWI Blaze T20 Championship winning Manager and ex-West Indies player Tremayne Smartt, said, her defining moment was seeing and being a part of the growth process of the Guyana U19 Women’s team while watching players take the next step onto the international stage.
The former Guyana and West Indies Women’s all-rounder who turned to a more administrative role alongside coaching and in this case Manager of the Women’s U19 T20 Championship side, praised the young batch of ladies for helping to create history for themselves and women’s cricket in Guyana.
“It is a pleasure to share my knowledge with these young women who are the future of Guyana’s cricket and the West Indies. It’s historic but I was also the coach back in 2017 when Guyana won their first title. Having said that, it was a good feeling winning again in 2024”.
Smart, who played 57 ODIs and 58 T20Is from 2009 – 2018, highlighted that it was a humbling experience to see such a young side, most of which are still young to cricket; show maturity and confidence during their time overseas.
“Sitting from the outside looking in as a former player, it is good to see the future is bright for Guyana. The maturity these young women showed, it was something we worked on before leaving Guyana, the team spirit was high and they supported each other on and off the field,” said the Manager.
With a seasoned coach in Clive Grimmond alongside, Smartt said it was crucial as a former women’s player to emphasize on different cricket scenarios.
Her presence also ensured that the young ladies also had somewhat of an older sister, who had already been through the journey, to somewhat look up to and guide them as young, professional women in cricket; albeit playing or being ambassadors.
“Advice is something we’ve been working on for a while. We talk about self belief, keeping one’s shoulder up and getting your mindset right on and off the field. Also, it’s important to remember the game is not over until the last ball is bowled.”
She continued, “We would make jokes, speak about like, speak about imagination in cricket while working out plays in our heads. Having a positive mindset, there is no “I” in the word team. We also have our own little team Chant which is “Guyana, Guyana Wooi!” and I think it was one of the motivational factors behind the girls pushing to win this title during the tough phases of tournament.”
Manager Smartt also revealed the importance of having senior players in the mix alongside the newbies, hailing the likes of Naomi Barkoye and Niya Latchman for demonstrating good leadership qualities, traits she said the entire team embraced during their time spent.
“We would usually pray and we would allow everyone or certain players like Latchman or Barkoye or whoever may have played senior cricket before, to lead the youngsters and I think that bodes well for the future of the team’s culture.”
Wrapping up her interview, the former West Indies player wanted a bit more competition for the upcoming group of women cricketers.
She also thanked the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) for their role in reigniting Guyana’s Women cricket system, adding that young women need to play more 2nd division cricket with the males, which further enhances their growth.
“I just want for the members of this squad to continue their development and reach greater heights. I feel that they will have to start getting involved in cricket of a higher standard than what female cricket offers in Guyana.”
“That is they must be brave enough to start playing with the male’s at second division level for start and at U19 level if they could still be in that age group, it will help their skill to keep growing with experience gained,” she ended.
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