Captain Green confident GAW will take it one step further in the final

By Brandon Corlette

Playing in front of home fans at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence would greatly be missed by patriotic ‘Warrior’ Chris Green.
In a virtual press conference after being appointed captain of the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW), Green noted that the fans have always been crucial to the team’s success; and this year will be different, with no spectators being able to enter the stands and the tournament being played entirely in Trinidad and Tobago.
Asked about his plans for the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) to jump the final hurdle, Green said the team learnt a lot from that loss and the success over the years.
“Players have moved on, and we have returned excited; and I am super confident that we will meet the final and go one step further,” Green explained.
All the CPL players have been in the bubble at the Hilton Hotel, and it has been an atmosphere of great difference, but the team remains upbeat, he said.
GAW have had the luxury of retaining the core of its squad, and Green believes there is mutual understanding among team members and they are aware of what is necessary to contribute to the team’s success.

In the absence of Shoaib Malik from the Warriors camp, Green said, Malik’s experience is replaced by Ross Taylor’s. According to Green, Malik has left a good legacy, and the core of the team has learnt a lot from him over the years.
With spin set to play a big role in the tournament, Green opined that GAW are equipped with batsmen and spin bowlers to succeed. In fact, all teams have equipped themselves with a variety of spinners.
Green has said his approach to captaincy would be no different from what has been the tradition for the Warriors.
“For me, I want to provide a platform for the talented guys in our team to perform. I am willing to put my position on the line. I want to instill that confidence in all players on the team,” Green explained.
An Australian, Green is returning from remodelling his bowling action, and says he is mentally prepared and his training had begun since January 3. From a batting point of view, Green said if he could copy and paste the batting performance from last season, he would do that.
Green posited that all batsmen contributed at different times in the tournament, and if the team can produce another leading batsman in the tournament, that would take the GAW closer to a CPL title.
Speaking on the new additions in Ashmead Nedd and Kevin Sinclair, Green said he is impressed with those guys and the work they have put in.
With the players lacking match practice, Green has said that for the players to hit the ground running, the mental aspect would require adjusting; but this break does not make any player less in terms of skill.
Additionally, Green said he is excited to see the explosive Shimron Hetmyer on show. With external noise surrounding Hetmyer’s batting in the past, Green said it is difficult to bat in the middle, but Hetmyer is the man that has the ability to pick up the chips and win matches.
<<GAW squad reads>>: Imran Tahir, Nicholas Pooran, Brandon King, Ross Taylor, Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Green, Kissoondath Magram, Keemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Naveen Ul Haq, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Kevin Sinclair, Ashmeade Nedd, Odean Smith, Anthony Bramble, Jasdeep Singh