Malteenoes All Stars will “go all the way”

UWI-Unicom Twenty20 tournament…

ꟷ Coach Darien Bess is confident

By Timothy Jaikarran
The Malteenoes All Stars, the only Guyanese team in the 2020 UWI-Unicom Twenty20 tournament, in continuing their enviable run of form, have booked their spot in the semifinal matches, and will play the impressive Queen’s Park Cricket Club of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago.

And Malteenoes Coach Darien Bess, optimistic that his side will make it to the finals and uplift the trophy,
told Guyana Times Sport in an interview: “I feel good about the team’s performance! So far, we’ve played good, all-round cricket; we’ve played as a team. The guys stuck to their roles well, and executed our plans well, and that worked for us.

“If there is one (aspect) I can be critical of, it would be our catching; but some of the guys have never played under lights before. (There are) no excuses, though.
“We’ve set targets and we’ve chased targets, so I feel confident going into tonight’s semis. Our team is filled with out-of-favour players looking to make a comeback; players who have been overlooked for some time now, and a few young players looking to make a name for themselves. Winning this tournament would remind selectors back home of the skill and ability (of our players). Hopefully, someone from (some) CPL team is watching.”
Bess explained that this is his first senior assignment overseas, and thus winning would be a big boost for him. He noted that he is the youngest coach in the competition, but he has a lot to prove.
He also expressed hope that the performance of his team would demonstrate to everyone back home that, although he is young and new to coaching, he is competent enough to work with adults, and not just with youth teams.
He declared it his fervent desire that the competition would show all interested parties that he is a capable coach and has youth on his side, which means that his performance would inevitably improve as he gets on in age.
The first prize in this tournament is TT$40,000 and a trophy; the second prize is TT$15,000 and a trophy. The two losing semi-finalists would each receive TT$4000, while the “man of the series” would receive TT$2,500.
Prizes would also be given for the biggest six, best bowling figures, and for each “man of the match”.