Fitness test: Hetmyer, Permaul and co turn out as players record mixed numbers

by Brandon Corlette

Some of the biggest names in Guyana cricket turned out on a cool and clear Monday morning at the Leonora Track and Field Centre as players continued their fitness preparation for the upcoming regional 4-Day tournament.

Among those who turned up were West Indies players Shimron Hetmyer, Veerasammy Permaul, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Christopher Barnwell, Nial Smith, and Tagenarine Chanderpaul and others who missed the first assessment. While some of the numbers were encouraging, most players recorded disappointing numbers. Among the 14 players who turned up, four met the Cricket West Indies (CWI) minimum fitness standard of 40.

However, all the players had good timings in the 40 metres sprint. After the assessment, Head Coach of the Guyana franchise, Esuan Crandon said he had seen some decent numbers, but at the same time, some disappointing numbers as well.

“This goes to show that what you put in is what you will get out. Obviously, some of the guys have not been doing a lot of work when it comes to their fitness and we already talked about it. It is disappointing to come and see some guys’ scores drop, while some would have improved and maintained, but it was just to see where they are at and set targets going forward,” he said.

While the Chairman of Guyana Selectors, Ramnaresh Sarwan has stated that the minimum fitness standards was 45 for the Guyanese boys, Crandon said this was still a process.
“That is a process. We do not want people to get carried away with it, and we have not documented it as yet. We have set our intentions clear to have a fitness standard that is not compromised, and all players must work towards achieving that standard. There is a process that we need to follow, and we have to support the players with regard to that, and put the necessary resources to support them and it is up to them to put in the work and get to that standard,” Crandon told Guyana Times Sport.
When asked what encouragement he would offer the players, Crandon said: “Be more committed. See it as your job. You are a professional athlete; you are a professional cricketer; most of the times, are contracted players, who are paid to play. Some guys are not getting a monthly salary and they get pay when they play games. It is just a shame to see some guys not really making use of the opportunity to get the fitness done and have not realised the importance of their fitness and your skills to get up to that standard of performance.”
Some of the players that were up to standard in the yo-yo test were Trevon Griffith, Permaul, and Tagenarine Chanderpaul while the likes of Hetmyer and Hemraj still have more work to do. The regional 4-Day tournament is set to start in February, and after the Christmas break, another fitness assessment will be conducted in Guyana.