Three Newcomers in Guyana 20/20 Team
Malteenoes all-round Deon Ferrier is among three players without national senior team experience named in the Guyana squad to participate in the inaugural Stanford regional 20/20 cricket competition which begins on July 11 in Antigua.
GCC wicket-keeper Tyrell Tull, who last represented Guyana at the under-19 level in Jamaica in 2004, and Albion?s Imran Khan who last played at the regional under-19 level in 2000 in Guyana also gets their first chance at the senior national level.
This is Ferrier's first call up for his county at any level while Khan, a hard hitting batsman, only made his senior inter-county debut in the 20/20 competition which was won by Demerara this year.
The three were named on Thursday in a 13-man squad which will oppose Montserrat on July 21 in Guyana?s opening game in the competition which has a first prize of US$1 million.
Ramnaresh Sarwan gets his first official appointment as Guyana senior skipper; replacing fellow test player Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who gave up the West Indies captaincy to concentrate on his batting.
No vice-captain was named for the team which will be managed by Carl Moore and coached by Albert Smith.
Mahendra Nagamootoo who is presently playing in the English leagues, Neil McGarrell and Narsingh Deonarine are the other players in the squad with West Indies senior team experience.
Sewnarine Chattergoon, the lone Guyanese selected on the West Indies ?A? team to tour England next month, is now unavailable for the 20/20 tournament and no specialist opening batsman has been named in the touring party.
The non-selection of Cananda based Azeemul Haniff, who has been in fine form at the domestic 20/20 level, is surprising and US-based all-rounder Lennox Cush could be asked to open the batting in Antigua.
Esuan Crandon and Rayon Griffith, who could both contribute quick runs with the bat, are the fast bowlers selected while the experienced Andre Percival gets a recall after being dropped after the first round of the last Carib Beer regional first-class competition.
Trinidad-based batsman Travis Dowlin is the other batsman in the squad which is expected to attend the opening ceremony on July 8. The squad will then return home before traveling on July 19 for their opening game in the knock-out competition.
Demerara batsman Orin Ford and Berbician pacer Jeremy Gordon are the stand-by players.
National wicket keeper Derwin Christian, who is playing club cricket in Trinidad had the most dismissals in the last regional one-day competition and played in all Guyana?s matches in the Carib Beer series.
However Tull, arguably the most gifted glove-man in the county, has been preferred after controversially missing his last year at the youth level in 2005 because he did not participate in the inter county under-19 competition. He was the only keeper selected in the initial 20-man squad.
Manager Moore said he hoped that Cush and Nagamootoo return home to join the team as soon as possible and disclosed that the possibility of practice matches in Antigua or in St. Marteen is being discussed. Guyana are the regional one-day champions after beating Barbados in the 2006 KFC final at Bourda last October.
The full team: Ramnaresh Sarwan (captain), Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Lennox Cush, Travis Dowlin, Narsingh Deonarine, Andre Percival, Deon Ferrier, Neil McGarrell, Mahendra Nagamootoo, Imran Khan, Esuan Crandon, Rayon Griffith, Tyrell Tull, Carl Moore (Manager), Albert Smith (Coach).