Who will be the next Guyana Jaguars Head Coach?
- Applicants to be made public after Special Select Committee meets, says President
By Akeem Greene
On August 26, 2021, the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) on its official Facebook page posted a job application for the position of Head Coach and Assistant Coach of the Senior Men’s Cricket team, popularly known as the Guyana Jaguars.
However, more than a month after, there is still no idea who or how many persons would have applied for the job.
In an invited comment on Wednesday evening, GCB President, Bissoondyal Singh, indicated, “That will be released to the public after the ‘Special Select Committee’ meet…it is unprofessional to release this before.”
News Room Sport was reliably informed that in some instances, applications were sent to the Board, as outlined in the application process, but only an acknowledgment was given and no interview to date.
Trusted sources have indicated that Esuan Crandon, the Coach who held the position for the past six seasons of the Professional Cricket League (PCL), and won five consecutive Four-Day titles, is among the mix along with Julian Moore, Mark Harper and Ryan Hercules.
It is unclear at this time if there are other applicants.
In the past, Crandon’s deputy would have been current West Indies Assistant Coach, Rayon Griffith, and in his (Griffith’s) absence, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Moore would act as Assistant Coach/Manager.
The GCB, in outlining the requirements for the position, stated that applicants must have: At least a Cricket West Indies Level Two Coaching Certificate or its equivalent; at least two years coaching experience; must be able to work unsupervised, be result-driven, and have the requisite team management skills; must be resident in Guyana during the contract period; must be able to efficiently plan, organise and implement a players/team development programme; must be prepared to submit written proposals plans and reports to the GCB on all aspects of their coaching assignments; and must be able to work unsupervised and must be highly motivated individuals.
Currently, Hercules, Harper, Guyana Jaguars batsman Vishaul Singh and Chanderpaul are part of a 12-month Cricket West Indies’ Level Three coaching programme; Crandon and Moore are already Level Three certified.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic brought an abrupt end to the Four-Day season in March 2020, the only other regional tournament staged by CWI was the Super50 in February 2021.
To fill the Four-Day void, territories were required to host ‘Best v Best’ matches, providing they got permission from health authorities.
The intention of those matches was to aid in potential West Indies’ selection. Guyana, like some other territories, has not hosted any of those matches as yet.
After the World T20, starting this month, West Indies are scheduled to visit Sri Lanka for two Test matches.
