Out of the six Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) franchises, the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) is one of the teams that boasts a brilliant local artillery, year after year. In 2020, the script is the same, with over 8 locals in the team.
Out of those players, the six-hitting machine that is Sherfane Rutherford is back for another dance, and the opportunity to bring home many more wins for the Warriors.
Sherfane Rutherford celebrates the Warriors’ final home victory in 2018
The all-rounder that hails from Enmore, East Coast Demerara, has lit up the National Stadium, Providence, year after year and although the situation is not quite the same in 2020, he hopes to bring some excitement to the fans watching from the comfort of their homes. Similar to the fans who are happy to see the “biggest party in sport” after cricket’s 4-month hiatus, Rutherford is happy to be back in the game.
“First of all, I thank God for the opportunity. I think it’s an opportunity that everyone has been looking forward to, even though it hasn’t started. Playing late is not a problem cause we all wanted cricket and that’s our heart’s desire. It’s going to be a bit different this year but most of all, it’s cricket,” he told this publication in an exclusive interview.
While one would expect the likes of Rutherford to go out and just play freely, the 22-year-old who celebrated a birthday on Saturday has set out some clear goals for this CPL season, with his sights set on winning more games with an all-round performance.
“This year, I’m looking to focus more on winning the game. Over the past year, I’ve been hearing that I need to win more games, and I think it’s going to better me as a player and better the team.”
Rutherford, who has 8 T20 wickets to his name with best figures of 3/19 disclosed that this year he is even more focused on bettering his bowling performances and making his mark in that department.
“Well, I’ve been working on my bowling. Growing up I always used to bowl and bat. As of late, I haven’t been doing a lot of bowling but given the opportunity to bowl, I’ll take it. I’ve been working on it and if I get the chance and start putting in some good performances, along with the bat,” he noted.
Even with the coronavirus pandemic rearing its ugly head, it hasn’t stopped the left-arm batsman from constantly working on his game and fitness.
“For me, I’ve been training since it came and until now I’ve been doing some hard work. Sometimes it’s been hard cause you’re training and you don’t know when cricket is going to start playing.”
He continued saying, “For me I motivate myself by watching cricket videos, listening music, those things motivate me to train every day and that plays a big role in me not giving up and finally, CPL is starting, so I think it’s been good along the way for me.”
Another side effect of the pandemic is the inability to have fans in the stadiums during the CPL 2020 season. When probed about how the absence of fans would affect his game, Rutherford noted that it will come down to mental toughness and the support of the team.
“The fans, especially the Guyanese fans and Trinidadian fans have been amazing, but this year is a bit different. It’s about adapting and even though we don’t have the fans, we have 11 players, we have the players on the bench, we have the manager, the coach to support us, so I think that’s going to be the biggest support system for us,” the all-rounder told the Sunday Times Magazine.
He further stated, “Providing no fans, I think we still have to go out and play cricket and enjoy the game and win.”
Nevertheless, the 22-year-old, who made his T20 debut in August 2018 playing for the Warriors against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots and went on to make his West Indies T20I debut in December of that year, shared how enthusiastic he is about finally being reunited with his friends and teammates.
“I’ve been so excited, I even start enjoying my training more. I started doing more, I start finding things to keep me more active. Getting the chance to be back with my friends is not something that happens often and it’s going to be a big opportunity for me to just enjoy the time and win it with them because all of them have been talking about winning,” he disclosed.
Although the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) may not be the same this year, one thing that is for sure is Rutherford’s hunger to bring home the trophy.
“It’s been such a close call for us and I think that this year we have the best opportunity to win it.”
