ST JOHN’S – West Indies Cricket Board chief Julian Hunte believes Guyana have gained valuable experience from their campaign in the Champions League Twenty20 despite going winless in the lucrative tournament in South Africa.
Guyana lost all four of their games in Group B but Hunte noted the tournament would have provided valuable exposure for young players as well as providing crucial experience.
“While they did not manage to win any games the young group of players would have surely learnt immensely from the rich experience of playing against some of the legends in the game and against well drilled professional teams,” Hunte pointed out.
“Captain Ramnaresh Sarwan led with the bat as best he could and up-and-coming players such as spinner Devendra Bishoo – the Player of the Caribbean Twenty20 2010 Tournament – and all-rounder Christopher Barnwell showed that they are able to compete favourably against the best in the game and that bodes well for the future of West Indies cricket.”
Guyana qualified for the September 10-26 tournament after beating Barbados by one wicket with a ball to spare in the final of the CT20 in July.
However, their outing among the world’s best T20 teams was less than impressive. They lost their opening game by nine wickets to Royal Challengers Bangalore, went to Mumbai Indians by 31 runs, were crushed by nine wickets by Highveld Lions before suffering a 15-run loss to the South Australia Redbacks in their final game.
Their performance was in stark contrast to that of Trinidad and Tobago who played unbeaten to reach the final of the inaugural tournament last year, before losing to New South Wales Blues.
“Trinidad and Tobago set exceptionally high standards in the previous edition of the Airtel Champions League and while Guyana’s young team did not manage to match those standards it was clear that they grew in confidence after a nervous start on a grand stage,” Hunte concluded. (CMC)
