In-form Essequibo training aggressively – Hercules

GCB/Hand-in-Hand U-19, 50-Over Inter-county
Essequibo Coach Ryan Hercules has said that despite having their opening match versus Demerara washed out, his players are still fired up, and are training overtime ahead of the next round, set to bowl off on Tuesday.
Following Sunday’s no-play result at Bourda in round one, Hercules told Guyana Times Sport that his players were ‘on the job’ in regard to their training and preparation, and the spare time will facilitate more practice sessions.
“There are times when games do get washed out, but we are not looking at that, we are here to play cricket. We have used the opportunity to push in more training, because we had training Saturday and Sunday. We want to keep improving our game,” he explained.
Essequibo thumped Demerara in the final round of the 3-dayers, gathering momentum heading into the 50-Over format; and Hercules, the county’s senior coach, pointed out that the transition process for the youngsters was similar to that of the older crop of players.
“Well, the transformation was just like in the 3-day for the seniors. These players are talented, they just know what to do when it comes to transitioning from 3-day to 50- over cricket. Some areas we focused on were ground fielding, catching, backing up in the fields, sport bowling, (all of) which will help the batsmen,” he declared.
He continued, “It’s 50-overs’ cricket, but it’s still 300 balls, and players till need to be patient when they bat. And those were some of the areas we were working on in the nets for the past three days.”
Regarding his thoughts on the quality of his team, the former national U-19 pacer said he was very impressed with some of the players on the team. He wants some of them to have immediate grooming into the Jaguars Academy.
He highlighted a few of his players whom he believes will play a crucial role in the county’s success during the 50-over tourney as well as in the future. “We have a few good senior players. Pacer Joshua Jones is one; batsman Kurt Lovell, who has been scoring runs in the 3-day tournament, (is another); left-arm spinner Joel Fortune, leg-spinner Sherlan Anthony who got five wickets…
“…also, the captain, Kevin Christian; he plays for the senior team. So these are players whom we have high expectation of, and they just need to go out there and understand their roles, and we will get the results,” he assured.
Weather permitting, Essequibo will put Sunday’s woes behind them as they seek to lock horns with the Under-17 Select in round two, which is tentatively set for the Everest Cricket Ground. (Clifton Ross)