Two-time Regional Under-15 winning Coach Julian Moore is backing the current squad to return home with the Cricket West Indies (CWI) 2018 title on the strong optimism the well-balanced squad should perform well in Jamaica.
Moore, the last coach to win the U-15 title following his success back-to-back years; in 2014 and 2015 told Guyana Times Sport on Tuesday, he was more than optimistic the current side can repeat the events of two years ago.
Manager Andy Ramnarine and coach Julian Moore (centre) embraces team members after Guyana won the Under-15 title in 2014
“I think they have a pretty good chance this year to win. I think they have a good all-round team and the experience they would have gained during the inter-county U-17 and U- 15 went a far way in maturing them as they played their cricket”.
The former youth batsman felt players need to place more emphasis on the batting as he knows from experience how crucial it is to have your batsmen ‘fire’.
“I think the batting is the most important part. During the U-15/17 they did well as a bowling unit but for them to really do well in the Regional tournament they really have to put on a good show with the bat.”
He continued, “They showed a lot of improvement during the Inter-county U-17 and I think they really took their experiences into the U-15’s and I also think their bowling is good enough to win Regional games, especially our spinners”.
Touching back on the topic of the importance of the inter-county fixtures, Moore said that it was very important for those at the club levels who might transition to the u-15 teams to realise the importance of making full use of those domestic competitions.
“U-15 is the nursery level of cricket and playing at a regional tournament is playing at the bigger stage and it requires players to step up. I think playing in the inter-county helped bridged that gap between county and regional cricket. So the experiences they would have gained playing among their peers in the U-15’s and then competing against the U-17 guys would have done a lot for them technically and mentally going into a big tournament for them playing on the Regional stage”.
Moore further stated the players apart from first time jitters, will be faced with numerous other challenges, all of which he said comes with the responsibility of playing for your country regardless of the level. He said it is up to the coach and manager to help the players thrive in a relaxed, comfortable environment.
Having coached the likes of Joshua Persaud, Bhaskar Yadram, Ashmead Nedd, Kevin Sinclair, Qamar Torrington and others who have gone onto play at the highest levels of youth cricket, wrapped up his interview by highlighting the importance of assessing conditions in Jamaica as another factor which will add to Guyana’s chances.
“The wickets in Jamaica are a bit harder, the ball comes on a bit more so you have to adjust to the conditions to really get going and do well in the tournament but I think the stage is set for us to go there and do well but the guys need to understand the responsibility they have in representing your country”, he ended.
The 14 man squad which is being coached by CWI Level 3 coach, Winston Smith and Managed by Latchman Yadram play their first match today against Windward Islands.
Full Squad: – Zeynul Ramsammy- Captain, Jonathan Rampersaud- Vice Captain, Mahendra Gopilall, Nicholas Rajpat, Mavendra Dindyal, Shamar Yearwood, Chanderpaul Ramraj, Romel Datterdeen, Jeremey Sandia, Zachary Jodah, Safeik Khan, Tomanni Caesar, Isai Thorne and Ajay Gainda
