The Barbados Nation
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Barbados confident of victory over Guyana

by Haydn Gill
16 October 1998



''WE ARE READY''.

With those words, captain Philo Wallace summed up the supreme confidence of his bubbling Barbados team, ahead of today's highly-anticipated Red Stripe Bowl semifinal against Guyana.

As the fever mounted for what is expected to be an enthralling contest at the Kaiser Sports Club, the ebullient Wallace reported that important measures had been taken to eliminate the two major deficiencies Barbados displayed in the preliminary round.

Wallace said a briefing from manager Tony Howard to his team's experienced middle-order batsmen and a lengthy fielding session should go a long way in helping Barbados to a record 12th final appearance in regional limited-overs cricket.

Wallace, Barbados' most devastating batsman in the preliminaries, when he was not dismissed by a bowler on the way to scores of 62, 104 not out and 59, was speaking while workers of the bauxite mining company were making last- minute preparations to the ground located on Jamaica's scenic north coast in Discovery Bay.

``The guys are ready to go. The manager had a chat with the middle-order batsmen.

``They are quite eager and they know what they have to do,'' Wallace said.

Having missed a couple chances in the outfield in their earlier matches, coach William Bourne carried the team through an extensive session that lasted more than two hours.

That workout was done under mainly cloudy skies, but by mid-afternoon, the sun was out in all its brilliance.

After the session, Wallace expressed some concern about the nature of the outfield.

``It is a bit rough and bumpy,'' he said. ``Obviously, the basic fielding principles will have to apply – getting your body behind the ball and keeping your eyes on the ball.''

He was more upbeat about the pitch.

``When we got here at half past eight (yesterday morning), the wicket was still a bit wet, but it looks like a good wicket. It's very hard and I think it should be a good one-day wicket.''

Barbados should have every reason to be concerned about the mid-innings batting after hurricane starts in two of their three Zone 2 matches.

Roland Holder, Floyd Reifer and wicket-keeper Courtney Browne have not provided the runs needed to keep the momentum going and there could well be the temptation to leave out either Holder or Reifer today.

Ryan Hinds, the 17-year-old all-rounder who bowled impressively in the first two matches before pulling out of the final match because of dizzy spells, is certain to return to the line-up.

Fellow teenager Antonio Mayers took Hinds' place, and it will not come as a surprise if he is given preference ahead of either Holder or Reifer.

Guyana, seeking a place in a fourth successive final, have earned the highest respect from the Barbados captain.

A team with the likes of Test trio Carl Hooper, Clayton Lambert and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, along with West Indies 'A' selectees Ramnaresh Sarwan, Keith Semple and Reon King cannot be discounted, according to Wallace.

``Guyana are very good One-Day team, but once we continue to do the basics well, we should be able to beat them,'' he said.

Wallace also reported that fast bowler Hendy Bryan and left-arm spinner Winston Reid had no complaints following injuries that affected them recently and both were fit enough to be considered in the final XI.

There will be live ball-by-ball radio coverage of today's match.


Source: The Barbados Nation
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