BY JOHN RAMISNGH in Lauderhill Florida
The Guyana Amazon Warriors and Barbados Tridents will be part of history as the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) makes its long awaited debut in the United States of America with the first of six matches bowling off this evening in Florida.
The Guyana Amazon Warriors were having their final practice session ahead of the historic match while the ground staff were seen putting the final touches to the venue to have it in perfect shape for the expected sold out crowd at the Central County Broward Recreational Park in Lauderhill.
Amazon Warriors Head coach, Roger Harper and Assistant coach Esuan Crandon were seen taking the players through their paces while Umpires Leslie Reifer Jr and Peter Nero took the opportunity to get some ‘nets’ in as well which is now a custom for modern Umpires.
On the task at hand, both camps are focused knowing that nothing more than a victory is needed.
Guyana Amazon Warriors Captain Rayad Emrit said that his team is looking to win both matches to put themselves in a good position in
the play-offs but reiterated the importance of taking it one match at a time and not getting too far ahead of themselves.
His opposite number, Kieron Pollard said that despite the Warriors not having the ‘big’ names in their camp they play as a team which is very important. The outspoken Pollard also said that Rayad Emrit is a former Trident player is very capable of getting the job done. Pollard said it is a must win game of his team and they are committed to go all out with nothing more than a victory on their minds.
The straight boundaries are short and there is a high wind blowing across the ground from east to west and both Emrit and Pollard are aware of that and are prepared to counter the effects. The pitch is laden with dry grass and both captains said that they have full squads of 16 fit members to choose from and they will make a final assessment before deciding on their final composition.
Legendary former West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul was also at the Central Broward County Recreational Park among a group of 15 cricket coaches and was a favourite among those gathered at the venue as well.
Manager of the Guyana Amazon Warriors Omar Khan along with players Dwayne Smith, Steven Jacobs and Adam Zampa took time off from their practice session to interact with young and prospective cricketers who gathered at the ground to get a glimpse of their stars ahead of their key clash this evening. The cricketers told the youngsters the importance of working
