Gomes Slams Canada U-19 Preparations

Former West Indies batsman Larry Gomes plans to admonish Canadian cricket authorities for the country?s lack of serious preparation for the regional under-19 competition.

"I don?t think they?ll be too pleased with my report about the preparation and so on. When I write them, hopefully they will take these tournaments more seriously," said Gomes, Canada?s coach during the tournament in which they failed to make an impression.

The former Trinidad and Tobago captain and reliable West Indies middle-order batsman was speaking after the North American side was easily beaten by Barbados by seven wickets in their only limited-overs contest of the tournament at the Melbourne club ground on Wednesday.

"I was a bit disappointed that the administrators in Canada asked me to fill in as coach at the last minute. I really did not have a chance to prepare these guys. The first time I met most of them was at the airport in Toronto."

It meant he only had one practice session with the team ahead of the start of the tournament on July 30. He would later discover some startling revelations, including the fact that the individual identified to be the team?s wicket-keeper had not performed the role for two years.

"It made my job a lot more difficult. I couldn?t plan any strategy," he said.

As a result, the squad, which included five Cananda-born players, six other naturalised Canadians and three immigrants, struggled badly in the three-day competition before predictably going under to Barbados in their solitary one-day match.

What transpired Gomes said, was in some way a reflection on the lack of professionalism in the sport in Canada. "Having played at the highest level and played professionally, I expect a certain standard. With these guys, you can?t push them too hard. They do not know the meaning of professionalism when it comes to playing cricket."

"They are a good bunch of players. They listen and are prepared to learn, but the problem is that I didn?t have enough him to train with them and prepare them," he added.

Gomes, who played 60 Tests for the West Indies in the late 70s and early 80s and who enjoyed a reputation as a solid, dependable batsman who scored 3,171 runs (ave. 39.63) migrated to Canada in 1999.

The holder of a West Indies Cricket Board advanced coaching certificate, said the Canadian team would have benefited from playing in the Caribbean?s leading youth competition.

?It was a wonderful experience for the Canadian guys. They are not accustomed to playing the three-day game. Hopefully they?ll learn from the experience,? he said.

* SOURCE: Barbados Nation