Winning Coach- Irvin Warrican: Mission Accomplished

Coach of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines senior Cricket team, which won the 2009 Windwards two-day championship, has said that it was the team’s mission to win the title, as an independence gift to this country.{{more}}

A smiling Irvin Warrican told SEARCHLIGHT last Sunday, soon after the team’s arrival: “We left here to win both titles (one-day and two-day), but in the one day, our batters did not come up to trumps”.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines finished last in the 50-over limited one-day format.

“But it was different in the two-day competition, as it was a total team effort. Our batsmen came into their own, and as expected, the bowlers did their part,” Warrican added.

He singled out the batting of Salvan Browne, who was second in the aggregate among the four competing islands, but who was not among the 24 selected for the Windwards in the 2010 West Indies four day tournament, and the bowling of Deighton Butler and Kenroy Peters, as pivotal to the team’s success.

“We were by far the most superior team in the two-day competition, (even though) we dropped a lot of catches,” the former St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Windwards off spinner opined.

Warrican thought that the preparation had a lot to do with the team’s superiority, and praised the coaching staff which also included former St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Windwards and West Indies fast bowlers Nixon Mc Lean and Ian Allen, and fitness trainer Denis Byam, as significant contributors to the team’ s final placing.

Meanwhile, Manager of the team, Elvis Browne, who is also a national selector, also thought that the win began here, with the selection of the right blend of youth and experience.

Zeroing on the specific players, Browne said: “Butler has proven he still has it within him, and there is no doubt of Peters’ ability.”

Peters was the competition’s top wicket taker with 15 scalps.

“St. Vincent and the Grenadines did well despite a few hiccups, and to get nine picks on the Windwards squad is also a great achievement,” the former St. Vincent and the Grenadines medium pacer said.

Browne, echoing Warrican’s sentiments, also believes it was a total team effort.

Meanwhile, successful captain Linden James was high in praise for his charges and stated it was a joy to regain the title after so many years.

James, in his second year in command, was delighted that he was the first captain to bring home the Windwards title since 2002.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines beat Dominica and Grenada outright and took first innings points from host St. Lucia.

On a personal note, James confessed that he did not play his best Cricket in St. Lucia and was left out of the Windwards one-day team. However, he plans to bounce back for the four day regional competition next year, and to do so, he has mapped out working on his wicket keeping drills in order to get back his touch.

The winning team returned home last Sunday just before noon, but without Donwell Hector and Butler, who went on to Guyana as members of the Windwards squad for the current WICB President’s Cup one say competition.(RT)