Chanderpaul to work with young batsmen

Georgetown (Guyana), Sep 29 : Shivnarine Chanderpaul will pass on to the youngsters some of the knowledge that has helped make him one of the most reliable West Indies batsmen over the last decade when the Guyana national team begins its preparations for the WICB Regional Super50 championship to be hosted here.

The experienced left-hander will not be available for the competition due to Test-match duties with West Indies in Bangladesh. But the Guyana Cricket Board said he will participate in the training camp in an effort to assist the batsmen to be better prepared for the next month's competition.

Apart from their capture of the Caribbean Twenty20 Championship last year, Guyana have generally struggled in regional competitions in recent times, with their batting, in particular, being a letdown.

The decision to get Chanderpaul to take a more active role in advising the young batsmen in the squad is part of a process to ease the problem.

The batting in the competition is likely to be further boosted by the presence of another experienced batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan.

He missed the national One-day competition and was not picked for the West Indies trip to Bangladesh due to a recurring back injury.

Sarwan is expected to be fully fit to resume competitive cricket a week before the regional competition commences.

He will undergo a fitness test just before the start of the Super50 and if he is not fit enough he will be replaced in the Guyana side.