Essequibo not taking winless East Coast lightly – Adams

…says losing match could halt team’s progress

By Clifton Ross

Anthony Adams, the Essequibo Captain, said he was warning his team not to take the out-of-sorts East Coast lightly, despite them not playing their best cricket this season, when the two face off in the GCB/Jaguars 3-Day League sixth-round match at Tuschen Ground.
Consistency was the term used by Adams during his interview with Guyana Times Sport on Friday, to describe the driving force behind his team’s success as they prepare to continue their impressive run when they battle a hapless East Coast team.

“We have learned consistency as a team, and we have been very consistent over the last five games and the most important thing we have learnt is playing every match by sessions. You need to make every session yours in order to take control of the match,” Adams pointed out.
The table leaders, who have 71.4 points, seized control of the competition following their drawn encounter with Georgetown in the fourth round. Adams is, however, aware that despite the East Coast’s lean run, they are still a very dangerous side with dangerous players and a loss to them could put his team on the back foot with one round left.
“We still need to put on good performances and play good cricket, not because we’re playing the bottom team, we will be taking them lightly, because they still have good players like Chandrika, Brian Sattaur and Bhaskar Yadram, who scored a century already,” Adams admitted. Most teams are missing key players on account of the ongoing independence T20 invitational tournament in Antigua. This coupled with upcoming international assignments dealt Essequibo a strong blow as Ricardo Adams, who has scored two tons thus far and Keemo Paul, who slammed a mind-blowing 177 in the recent round, were both drafted to the Guyana T20 team.
The left-arm spinner said it was difficult to replace players of such calibre. “Replacing Paul and Adams is a very big thing. Keemo has played for Guyana and West Indies, and Ricardo has been in great form this season. Tomorrow’s game is a big game for us and we need the other guys to step up, guys like Kevon Boodie, myself and Kemol Savory will need to score runs with the bat, while we have good players to support us like Mark Williams and Vijai Surujpaul.”
With 39 wickets from just 10 innings and a century under his belt, Adams wrapped up the last round with a 13-wicket haul and, as a result, has been quietly raising his stock not only as a spinner but as a capable lower-order batsman. He credited the opportunity of bowling to some of Guyana’s best batsmen during the League as added factors to his rising success.
“Well, I have always tried to be positive in what I do; I have not been under any pressure bowling against the senior players, because the tournament has taught me to be patient. I have to play as a captain and a bowler, and I have to manage my own bowling as well as the team, so I have been learning a lot from the experience and I’m just looking to continue my all-round form,” he concluded.
The match starts at 09:30h.