Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) began their traditional pre-tournament camp on Friday last at the Guyana National Stadium (GNS) Providence. With Shimron Hetmyer coming off the 2018 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with 440 runs under his belt, Head Coach Johan Botha explained that the expectation of Hetmyer remains high.
New-boy Brandon King going through the motion
“Last year was a break out year for him, where he won some games for us; I would say he was one of the main reason to take us into the final” Botha declared. The 37-year old South African, Both, further added that Hetmyer has had a decent year for the West Indies since his last CPL outing. Despite not scoring the amount of runs he would have wanted to score for the West Indies, Botha spoke highly of the Guyanese star who showed glimpses of brilliance in recent times.
Botha further highlighted that the batting should not be on Hetmyer’s shoulder alone. “As I said to the group, we can just hope that Hety (Hetmyer) gets runs, everyone else must be up for the task”, Botha explained. The likes of Sherfane Rutherford, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran and Shoaib Malik must be ready. Both spoke highly of Pooran, who is currently playing in Yorkshire in the T20 English tournament. “Pooran has had a really good World Cup” so there is batting around Hetmyer”. The GAW batting line-up looks deep on paper, with the likes of Shadab Khan, Chris Green and Keemo Paul can all handle themselves with the bat. “If we have something similar from last season from Hetmyer, that would be nice”, Botha signaled.
Romario Shepherd on the run
The GAW has also invested in a team analyst; Botha revealed that Saurab Walkar, was working behind the scenes last season but he is now on the forefront with the GAW. Walkar was part of the Mumbai team in the Ranji Trophy, India’s First-Class competition, for eight seasons. On two occasions during that time Mumbai lifted the title.
In early 2019, he left the Mumbai unit to take up a role with Pakistan Super League side Multan Sultans. Incidentally, he was convinced to take up the role there by Multan Sultans coach Botha, who is now the Warriors coach for the second season running. Botha added that Walkar presence will be looked upon to provide the team with the necessary statistics and analysis; the basic things that will make a difference to the team.
Head Coach Johan Botha at the opening day of the camp; local coach Ryan Hercules in background
The GAW, will play their first three matches at their home fortress, the GNS at Providence. Botha stated that a good start to the tournament is certainly on the team’s radar but winning away from home is something the team is capable of. Reflecting on the 2018 CPL campaign, the Head Coach stated that making it to the final was a positive for the team. The initial aim for the team in the early stages of the tournament is to make the final four where the team will be in a position to win their maiden CPL title.
During the opening day of the pre-tournament camp, the players were engaged in fitness sessions and team bonding activities. A few of the players will join the camp shortly before the first match on Thursday September 5 against St Lucia Zouks at the GNS. The likes of Green, Malik, Hetmyer, Paul, Khan and Pooran are expected to arrive shortly.
