Amazon Jaguars’ fitness test: Imlach the fittest, Coach Crandon disappointed at mixed results

By Brandon Corlette

Guyana Amazon Jaguars conducted its fitness Test on Thursday morning at the Leonora Track and Field Centre, West Coast Demerara.

Head Coach of the Amazon Jaguars, Esuan Crandon, has said some 21 players turned up to do the yo-yo test and the 40-metre sprint, and he
noted that he was a bit disappointed at the mixed results shown by some of the players. He also disclosed that, based on the results, not all the players have been putting in independent fitness work.

While Crandon did not disclose specific fitness results, this publication has been informed that 25-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Tevin Imlach was the fittest man, running 60 in the yo-yo test.
“I am a little bit disappointed. We would have done one previous fitness test on July 20 and we saw a few guys regress. We saw a couple of guys that were able to maintain and get better. We have been getting some mixed results that we have been looking at. It is a work in progress, and guys must take it (fitness) a bit more serious and do stuff on their own,” Crandon told this publication.
“It is obvious that players are batting the COVID-19 pandemic, but they are not restricted to work on their fitness independently. With the Regional 4-Day tournament set for early February 2022, the players must be in tip-top shape.
“It tells me that not a lot of them have been doing stuff on their own, doing their personal work and so on. It leaves a lot more to be desired. It is just (about) guys taking more responsibility and more ownership with regards to their fitness, and there is not a lot of time to go, in terms of the Regional 4-Day tournament,” Crandon added.
“I do not want to take more of my time to get players fit to play. That should not be the way, they should be fit coming into this period, which is now for them to improve their cricketing skills so they can be well prepared for the tournament coming up,” the Amazon Jaguars Head Coach noted.
During the past week, Chairman of Selectors for the Guyana franchise, Ramnaresh Sarwan, raised the minimum fitness level to 45. Appearing virtually at the Guyana Cricket Board press conference, Sarwan noted that fitness is important.
“Fitness has become such a social media rant, and the players themselves are the ones that need to take the responsibility to resolve the problem. It is written there, they are aware of it, so I would encourage them to try and do that,” Sarwan has said.
Among the contracted players who did the fitness test are captain Leon Johnson, Kevin Sinclair, Anthony Bramble, and Kevlon Anderson. The other notable players are overseas, while Shimron Hetmyer, who is in Guyana, was not at the fitness test.
The Amazon Jaguars contracted players are: Kevlon Anderson, Christopher Barnwell, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Shimron Hetmyer, Leon Johnson, Gudakesh Motie, Keemo Paul, Veerasammy Permaul, Romario Shepherd, Vishaul Singh, Kevin Sinclair, Nial Smith, Anthony Bramble, Keon Joseph.