Dedicated Transport Sports Club (TSC) member, player and Coach Shawn Massiah, says it is a work in progress for his side to be among the top competitors in Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) first division competitions.
Presently the club’s second division team is slated to contest two finals; the Noble House Seafood Two Day final which is slated for this weekend against Guyana National Industrial Corporation (GNIC) at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground, Bourda and the New Building Society 40 overs final against Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) set for the following weekend.
Shawn Massiah
In contrast the Thomas Land side have not been as competitive in first division cricket as compared to the standard set in second division cricket over the last five years.
Nevertheless, the coach is aiming to bring his team up to that level whereby it will be a force to reckon with at all levels of cricket in the City. “We know we are struggling in first division cricket, but becoming more competitive is a work in progress,” said Massiah.
He plans to streamline initiatives to encourage experience and emerging talents to join the club to achieve this goal. “We have talent but I would like to add at least a hostile fast bowler and two experience batsmen as well as some fresh talent to our squad to balance our team composition to make it a more efficient one at the first division level.”
Apart from their outstanding performances in second division cricket, TSC have also seen some success at youth competitions within the last five years, winning the GCA U-15 and U-13 tournament in 2014. Emerging from that period Colin Barlow elevated to play for Guyana U-15 and West Indies U-16 teams while fast bowler Keon Morris represented Guyana Under-19. However, they are presently without the service of Morris, who is in Trinidad playing professional cricket.
Meanwhile, Sunil Singh a productive second division player was rewarded with a place in the Georgetown team for the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Franchise League Three Day Competition where he scored two half centuries and ended among the top run getters for his side.
For years the TSC ground have been unsuitable for practice and hosting of matches, so the members mostly practice with tape balls on a tennis court and play all their matches away from home. Nevertheless the club managed three titles across three levels within the last five years and that number could grow by Monday if they win against GNIC this weekend.
Subsequent to the two finals, TSC will play GNIC, University of Guyana and DCC in their remaining Carib T20 matches. Massiah is optimistic that his unit could win against GNIC and UG but it would take an extraordinary effort to beat powerhouse DCC, who are also the reigning champions in the tournament.
