GUYANA’S senior women’s national cricket team departed yesterday morning to contest the Regional West Indies Women’s Federation cricket tournament, scheduled to start tomorrow in Trinidad And Tobago.
The sixteen-member team will do battle for the next two weeks in the competition which is scheduled to end on May 16.
The team of 14 players and two officials was named two Sundays ago by the Guyana Women’s Cricket Association (GWCA) selectors.
The team comprises Indomattie Goordial, Faye Franlkin, Candace Atkins, Tracey Miller, Tracy Glasgow, June Ogle, Michelle Fitzalbert, Nikita Toney, Onika Wallerson, Althea Newark, Davanie Sewnarine, Natasha Gangoo, Fiona Mentis and Abeena Parker.
Coach is Wayne Jackson with Maylene Ramdular the manager.
The players were selected from Demerara, Berbice and Essequibo and were involved in a number of sessions with Clyde Butts and Competitions Chairperson Ava Baker, at the GNIC ground.
Guyana open against Barbados tomorrow and will come up against hosts Trinidad and Tobago on May 5.
On Friday, Guyana will play St Lucia, oppose Jamaica on Saturday and on Sunday May 9 they tackle St Vincent, while they have drawn a bye to the next round.
On May 13, the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the West Indies Women’s Cricket Federation will be held, with the knockout stage of the competition beginning on Friday May 14.
Semi-final action is set for May 15 with the final set for Sunday, May 16.
Baker said that the players have responded well to the training sessions they were involved in and she is confident that they will do well in the tournament.
The players, however, have been somewhat hampered over the past few weeks by the inclement weather and have not been too active outdoors and are eager to get some outdoor practice before their first encounter.
A number of the players on the team are under the age of 23, with Goordial and Atkins having a good measure of international exposure, being part of the West Indies team that toured Pakistan last year. All the teams will be hosted at a welcoming ceremony this evening.
The Guyana team is expected back on May 17. (Leeron Brumell)