BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE management of Leeward Islands Hurricanes have set a number of targets for themselves as they seek to remove the tag of being the “whipping boys” of regional cricket.
With the West Indies Cricket Board Professional Cricket League bowling off on Friday (Oct. 27) around the region, the Hurricanes will be starting the season in St. Georges, Grenada in an upbeat manner as they will look to build on the three victories achieved in 2016/2017.
Opening against the Windward Islands Volcanoes, Cricket Operations Manager for the Hurricanes, Vernon Springer told SKNVibes Sport that the team would have to improve on its performances over the last three years.
“One can almost say that we are like the whipping boys in the four-day championships. In fact, during the three years, we have not won the championship and we have not done well in the placing,” Springer noted.
High on the agenda, he revealed, is to improve on the games that they would have won last season, as the unit is now under a new coach – in the likes of Winston Benjamin and assistant coach Wilden Cornwall.
To this end, the Leeward Islands Cricket Board has offered an incentive to the team. According to Springer, to gain that incentive, the team, on average, needs to win at least six to eight games from a possible 10.
He however did not disclose what the incentive would be, only to reiterate that there is “an incentive package if they can double it (win) from three to six and we can go up to eight”.
“I think that was the message of the president who visited St. Kitts and Nevis and the team over the last couple of days; in that we have to improve on our rankings. In the Super50, we got to the semi-finals, but in the four-day we have to do a lot better,” Springer said.
The team will be without the services of five of its leading players - Kieron Powell, Alzarri Joseph (Windies Senior Team) – and three others who are away on international duties with the West Indies A Team.
Springer noted that the absence of those players should not be an excuse for non-performance by those selected when they lock horns with the Volcanoes.
He believes that the platform has been set for every single player to perform credibly at the regional level.
The 13 players selected are: Devon Thomas (Captain), Gavin Tonge (Vice Captain), Keacy Carty, Elvin Berridge, Jason Campbell, Jeremiah Louis, Terrance Warde, Akeem Saunders, Mervin Matthew, Chesney Hughes, Nkrumah Bonner, Jacques Taylor and Stanny Simon.
This year, the Hurricanes have garnered the services of Devon Thomas and Gavin Tonge, who Springer believes would add strength to the line-up.
