By Avenash Ramzan
The Guyana Amazon Warriors will begin the process to claiming a maiden Hero Caribbean Premier League title when a brief encampment commences on Friday (August 30) in Guyana.
The players will start assembling tomorrow with the hope of whipping themselves in shape for the September 4 to October 12 tournament.
According to Cricket Operations Manager, Reon King, the five-day camp will focus first and foremost on fitness. There will also be game simulation exercises, as well as a practice game against a local Select XI on September 3.
While King noted that a longer camp would have been ideal, they had to settle for a short and intense one, given that the majority of players are still committed to other duties.
The upshot to that is that players will head to Guyana with miles in their legs, ready to hit the field.
“Of course, in trade off. Longer camps would obviously allow different players from different territories, different islands, different teams, different countries the chance to acclimatise, coming from different weather conditions and stuff like that, you know giving them that feel of the surface at Providence,” King related to News Room Sport.
He added, “(But) these guys are pretty much seasoned professionals, so they’re coming here not ring rusty, but with some cricket under their belt.”
In reflecting on the six seasons of the Hero CPL, King, a former Guyana and West Indies fast bowler, touched on what would be key for the Warriors to break that title drought.
The South America-based franchise has been to the final four times, finishing second best on every occasion.
“Certainly it’s not a skill or talent issue. I think guys would want to sit down and analyse their performances over the years because the make-up of the team is pretty much the same with a few additions with regards to the overseas players. The core of the team is still there,” King reasoned.
He continued, “The think tank is still there with regards to Omar Khan, he’s still involved, and we have a number of players there that started when they were young, but now at the peak of their career. So I think sitting down and analysing where we went wrong, I think it’s more of a mental issue and we need to try and address that and try and see where we can adjust our minds and adjust ourselves mentally to cross that line.”
The Warriors will begin their campaign with a three-match home leg at Providence. On September 5, they take on St. Lucia Zouks from 18:00h. Two day later, they face St. Kitts Patriots from 20:00h, followed by a clash against Barbados Tridents on September 8 at 17:00h.
They then head off to play five away games before returning for the two final two home matches in early October.
