Ramnauth, Heyliger slam selectors for not including Essequibians

Dillon Heyliger (left) and Devon Ramnauth
Kaieteur News – Devon Ramnauth and Dillon Heyliger, two former national youth players, have expressed disappointment with Guyana’s selectors after not including any player from Essequibo for the upcoming Super50 tournament early next month in Antigua.
According to Ramnauth and Heyliger, three players should have made the side automatically because they would have presented good performances over the years in the franchise cricket that is mainly used to select players for the regional assignment. The trio are: wicket keeper / batsman Kevol Savory, left-arm spinner Anthony Adams and Ricardo Adams (unrelated), while fast bowler Rensford Beaton is also a question mark.
None of the players were able to catch the selectors’ eyes as the touring party consisted solely of players from Berbice and Demerara.
Guyana Jaguars are set to open their campaign against Barbados Pride in the six-team competition that runs February 7-27.
Ramnauth and Heyliger, both junior and senior cricket played for Essequibo but wanted more representation for the players who were ignored for the tournament.
They believe the Essequibo Cricket Board (ECB) should really play a bigger role in ensuring that their players are selected to represent the national team because they are talented enough and more importantly have put on good performances.
“Essequibo County players have long been neglected and our talented players are being stifled because of a lack of ECB representation.”
We need ECB solutions! “I’m calling the ECB president Fizul Bacchus and the other executives to address this issue publicly,” revealed Ramnauth.
Heyliger and Ramnauth currently reside in Canada. Heyliger continued to lead his trade in North America and is a member of the Canadian international side. He also mentioned that the ECB can do better to ensure that their players are well represented at all levels.
“This is very disappointing to hear that these three players have done well but cannot find themselves in the Guyana Jaguars squad; the ECB must be more proactive and get their actions together for the benefit of our cricket at Essequibo; they need to be more supportive of our talents, ”said Heyliger, a versatile and grieving mourner.
In 2019 when the tournament was held in Trinidad and Tobago, Savory made a promising start to the 50-over career hitting an unbeaten 71 against eventual West Indies champion. That year Beaton was part of the team like the other Essequibo cricketer.
Ricardo Adams made his first appearance in 2018 and never played back, while Anthony has shown consistency with the ball in franchise cricket and impressed in the four-day version.
Beaton, meanwhile, has been out of cricket for a while due to his bowling action but was part of the camp in preparation for the tournament. According to reports, these players have not passed their fitness test, but Ramnauth and Heyliger want to know what the criteria were to be fit in an effort to make the team.
“We want answers to how you go about selecting the team; the choice must be justifiable and transparent so that players would not suffer, ”Ramnauth declared.
“We need the leader to come forward and give the right representation; this has been going on and on for years now; the results are there and these players should be selected, ”revealed Heyliger.