Dear Editor,
The Guyana Amazon Warriors have been given the uncomfortable tag as bridesmaids and chokers after another stumble at final hurdle in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), which ended Sunday night in Trinidad with an easy victory for the hosts.
While it is a justified position, we must take a closer look to see what is needed to get the Warriors over the line, for we have come up empty-handed after reaching four finals in six years.
Over the first five years of CPL, the Warriors had used Guyanese coaches; Roger Harper in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017, and Carl Hooper in 2015, to oversee the team. Harper took the Warriors to the final in 2013 and 2014, but could not get them over the line, and was replaced with Hooper in 2015, when they crashed out at the semifinal stage.
Harper was brought back for 2016 and 2017, when the team finished second and third respectively, forcing the Warriors to look outside of the region for a coach.
South African Johan Botha was brought in, and was assisted by Guyanese Rayon Griffith. Initially, the move seemed to have brought fresh ideas, and according to the local media, the feeling in the camp was that 2018 was the year of the Guyana Amazon Warriors. They even got oil exploration giant ExxonMobil to sponsor them, and the entire Guyana to jump on the bandwagon.
After a few encouraging games, they hit some snags when they had three captains in nine games. Original captain Shoaib Malik left after five matches to represent Pakistan for Asia Cup, and former captain Rayad Emrit took over. However, following a dip in form and a heavy defeat at the hands of Trinbago Knight Riders, Trinidadian Emrit was stripped of the captaincy and was dropped. Australian rookie off-spinner Chris Green, in his first season in CPL, was then thrown in the hot seat.
With the batting exploits of Shimron Hetmyer and Sherfane Rutherford, the Warriors booked their place in their fourth final, and were looking to beat TKR three consecutive times to lift their maiden title.
At the start of the tournament, many had expectations of the team, especially after it was played up smartly by the media and was supported by ordinary performances from St Lucia Stars and Barbados Tridents. To this the fans got even more involved, and Providence was sold out for the home matches.
Before the start of the season, there was the desperate move to find a coach who can get the Warriors over the line; while, during the season, the Warriors were chopping and changing to find the right captain and team. The switching around helped, and they got to the final amidst all the pressures.
However, there is one position that is constant, and that is the position of ‘Team Manager.’ The Operations Manager has been the only constant in six years for the Amazon Warriors, and I strongly believe that his involvement is the jinx of the team.
The Operations Manager seemed to be involved in too many things, and the word outside is that he is not the man for the job. He was responsible for creating tension, and even had fallout with some players over the years, especially in 2017.
With the wealth of talent in Guyana, I know we can do better, but not worse. Cricket West Indies, like the rest of the world, has gone down the road of having former players fill the role of Team Operations Manager, a move that has proven to be successful.
If the Warriors are not looking at guys like Harper and Hooper, there are Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Clyde Butts, Reon King, Colin Stuart, Lennox Cush, Neil Barry, Julian Moore and Andre Percival, who all have local knowledge and must be considered. They are actively involved in the game, and can even assist in selecting players, like what the Operations Manager did at the CPL Player Draft earlier this year.
If the Guyana Amazon Warriors are looking for a different result, they cannot have the same persons doing the same things over and over again. The time to act is now.
Sincerely,
A Grant
