The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AS a spin-off for their trip to Antigua for the International Cricket Council’s World Cup Division Qualifier Tournament in November, the Bahamas Cricket Association will be sending another men’s team off to the Cayman Islands.

The Bahamas ended up with a ranking of 56 out of 104 countries in the International Cricket Council and BCA president Greg Taylor Sr said they have negotiated a series of T-20 international matches against the Cayman Islands, who didn’t make the trip.

The team, now coached by Corey Edwards from Barbados, will be leaving town on Monday to head to the Cayman Islands to play at least five T-20 matches before they return home on April 19. Hopefully at the end of the matches, Taylor Sr said, the Bahamas should be able to improve on their rankings.

“I feel we have some more players who joined the team, especially in batting, so we should be able to really compete,” said Taylor Sr, who will travel with the team.

Edwards, who already started working with the youth development programme, said his goal is to try to get the Bahamas men’s team to play at a higher level.

“It was a bit of a culture shock,” said Edwards, about the training regime that he put in place.

“The fellows rallied and got to put in some good work. So I feel the preparation has gone very well and we should be able to do some good things in the Cayman Islands.”

Edwards said the players have adapted very well and so he’s pleased with the progress he’s seen in their performances.

“There’s always some things that we could do a lot better, but if we do some of the things that we have been practicing, I think we will do very well,” Edwards said.

“One you are mature enough to understand what we are doing, if we can stick to our strengths and improve on our weaknesses, we will be alright.”

Named to the team are Marc Taylor, Greg Taylor Jr, Everette Haven, Renford Davson, Antonio Harris, Dwight Wheatley Jr, Keith Burrows, Julio Jemison, Sandeep Goud, Jagnauth Jagrod, Derrick Edgecombe, Bhumeshwar Jagrod, Festus Benn and Rudolph Fox.

“The team has adapted very well to the new coach,” Greg Taylor Jr said. “We have been working on getting the small things right and so far it has been very positive.

With the makeup of this year’s team, Taylor Jr has some great expectations for the team.

“We have a good mix. We have some older players, but we have some young players, so we should be able to do very well,” he said.