The Cayman Islands senior men’s cricket team is preparing for the Americas Sub-Regional World Cup Qualifier, scheduled to begin on 23 Feb.
The Compass caught up with the squad’s head coach Steve Gordon during a training session on Tuesday, 24 Jan. He believes his team’s preparation thus far will translate into wins next month.
“We have been preparing from early October for this tournament,” Gordon said.
“The guys are keen; they have been working hard and I think we are in a good spot… and, honestly, I believe that this is probably our best chance to qualify for a cricket World Cup. We are expecting to go down to Argentina and win this tournament.”
Cayman will compete against Bermuda, Bahamas, Belize, Panama and host country Argentina.
The top three nations from the Americas qualifier plus Canada will compete in the Qualifier Finals later this year, with the winner advancing to the World Cup in 2024.
Gordon said Bermuda, which is ranked 35, could be the team that gives the biggest pushback once the bowling starts, but he remains confident in the ability of his squad, which is currently ranked 42.
“Bermuda is the only team out of the six that are ahead of us. But we are expecting to win this tournament; to improve our world ranking and ensure that we move onto the second round.”
A total of 14 cricketers will represent Cayman at February’s qualifier, some of whom are from backgrounds and cultures outside the Islands.
“We have a lot of people from different nations that play cricket here on the island and we have a lot of locals that play cricket on the island… Presently, just looking at the crop players that we have, it [points to] a lot of good for cricket.”
Cayman will play Bahamas first on 25 Feb.
Cayman Men’s Cricket Team: Ramoon Sealy, Brian Corbin, Paul Manning, Sacha de Alwis, Demar Johnson, Omar Willis, Paul Chin, Alister Ifill, Adrian Wright, Conroy Wright, Jahmeal Buchanan, Troy Taylor, Thilina Pinnaduwa and Patrick Herron.
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