NO PLACE LIKE GUYANA!

– Guyanese players, Coach Sammy relishing World Cup start at Providence

“There’s no better place than Guyana to begin West Indies’ Men’s T20 World Cup campaign.”
That has been the bold declaration made not only by a group of West Indian cricketers of Guyanese nationality, but also by white-ball head Coach Daren Sammy when they touched down in the Land of Many Waters on Friday morning.
Ahead of the Caribbean leg of the T20 World Cup bowling off in Guyana on Sunday, West Indies cricketers, alongside their New Zealand and Papua New Guinea counterparts, arrived yesterday to contest their Group C matches, which would be hosted at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

Following a drive through Georgetown, the West Indies team arrived at the Marriott Hotel, where the Guyanese bunch comprising Romario Shepherd, Sherfane Rutherford and Gudakesh Motie endorsed the sentiments of Coach Daren Sammy.
“It’s always a pleasure! I mean, the way Guyana has been evolving over the last few years, (there’s) no better place than (Guyana) to start the World Cup here. You know, Providence. I’m sure all the upgrades there, these guys, our team, we’re looking forward to starting the opener against PNG on the second,” the West Indies white-ball Head Coach expressed.
“There’s no place like home! There’s no better way to start the World Cup than in front of our home fans!” said Sherfane Rutherford, as he concurred with the sentiments of the Head Coach.
Rutherford added, “For me, it’s just about giving myself the best opportunity by enjoying the cricket; and, you know, the result will take care of itself. I’ve been preparing for a while now, not just for the World Cup, so I’m ready and really excited; and hopefully, we can create some history this year.”

Romario Shepherd shared, “When he (Sammy) became head coach, he actually called me and mentioned about these things coming up. And he gave me a role, and I’m thankful to start my role in Guyana in the T20 World Cup, you know, my biggest tournament so far. Hopefully, we can start the tournament with a win. We have two games on our homeland. You know, the team and everyone is always happy to play in Guyana, because of the crowd support and, you know, the way people in Guyana play cricket. So, we, the players, just want to give the fans exciting cricket.”
“It’s an amazing feeling to be back home! Even special to play my first World Cup at home. So, I just want to go out there and make a big impact for my team,” Gudakesh Motie said about starting the campaign at home.
As West Indies get going on Sunday, Sammy spoke of their preparation, readiness, and how historic a win at home would be for the Men in Maroon.

Sammy divulged on their lead-up to the World Cup, “Our preparation, I’ve said many times before it didn’t just start now, it started from the last world Cup in Australia. The guys that we’ve selected, the guys that we’ve exposed over the last year or so, these are the guys that are here now. As coach, I feel quite confident in the way they’ve played; and you guys, as fans, you’ve seen how we played over the last year or so.
“We’re at home! There’s no better place to be, and we have a chance at creating history. Like I’ve told these guys, this group of men have a great chance of creating history at home, which I think we could do. So, we’re prepared, we’ve done the job, we’ve put in the work, and we’re ready,” a confident Sammy has declared.
The T20 World Cup bowls off at 20:30hrs tonight in Texas, USA with a clash between the hosts and Canada. Then things get going in the Caribbean on Sunday, June 2nd, with West Indies battling Papua New Guinea from 10:30hrs at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, EBD.