Territorial Development Officer (TDO) of the Guyana Cricketer Board (GCB), Colin Stuart, said the eagerness of players was one of the reasons the board chose to resume on-field action this year.
Given the pandemic and the usual rainfall at this time of the year, News Room Sport inquired about the rationale for restarting cricket matches as opposed to broad-based training.
As of November 1, sport activities were allowed to resume, pending approval of the Minister of Health.
“Based on our feedback from players from different [age] ranges, they were eager to get back on the field. After a while, players were beginning to get bored from working within that confined space so it wasn’t only about training but competition and we just thought it fitting to start with the Over-40 and work into the Under-19s, who didn’t get a chance to play this year,” Stuart explained at Friday’s launch of the GCB Over-40 T20 tournament.
“We of course, have the Guyana Jaguars Franchise to prepare for, where we normally use the eight teams instead of the three county teams,” he added.
GCB Secretary Anand Sanasie said with regional cricket resuming next year, it was necessary to test their strength to host matches.
“Cricket West Indies does intend to restart soon, with the 50-over version; so we are trying to have a kick-start and have the senior players go into the white-ball version because at some point in time we will be asked to prepare and that is also one of the factors.”
Since March 14, when they played their final match of the 2020 Regional Four-Day championship, which ended abruptly after eight rounds due to the pandemic, Guyana Jaguars have not been involved in cricket.
Stuart was further questioned on why the investment in the Over-40 group as opposed to Women’s Cricket, especially with the Commonwealth Games qualifier on next year, where Guyana will vie for a spot at the Games.
“Maturity and the fact that the COVID measures in place require a level of maturity and we prefer the experienced persons to execute those requirements and take learning from there as opposed to putting the younger persons,” the TDO explained.
The former West Indies fast-bowler added, “We have always seen the Over-40 as being the way to bring players back into the cricket environment and hopefully they can be motivated to go into the clubs, counties or associations and do coaching, mentorship, or administration.”
The Over-40 tournament features 16 teams drawn from the three counties. It is sponsored by Tropical Spring Water.
