Garnet Lawrence in at St Jago
Former Molynes United head coach Garnet Lawrence replaces Jerome Waite as head coach of St Jago High School for the next three years.
Lawrence, who previously coached Bridgeport High, says that St Jago has improved its football programme over the last few years and he hopes to continue that growth.
“It is a real good opportunity and I am elated about it, knowing that St Jago has been getting better as a football school over the last few years and has employed some very good coaches,” he said.
“So the players should be at a level where they are really good players. I am hoping to do well. Every one of the stakeholders has been pleased with my progress as a coach, and I am looking for good things.”
Lawrence, who was officially appointed yesterday, has a contract that runs to 2025 and he wants to help young players transition from the junior teams to playing in the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup. His plan is to instil the confidence that they can beat any team.
“We have a good crop of players to work with,” he said. “You want
Dto do well every year and, if you put that in the players’ minds, they will get it within the year or over the three years.
“Last year, they went a little close and, with more time, I think Jerome Waite would have taken them a bit further.
“So far, I have received great support and we need the players, the coaching staff and the support staff to make it work. Once we can strike that balance, we will do well.”
St Jago will play out of Group B with Jamaica College, St Catherine High School, Meadowbrook High, Cedar Grove Academy, and St Mary’s College. Although wary of his opponents, Lawrence expects espite losing their opening OneDay International (ODI) against Bangladesh, West Indies white ball captain Nicholas Pooran is confident the men in maroon can still take the threematch series and end their losing streak against the Tigers in this format of the game.
After sweeping the preceding Tests 2-0 and winning the three-match T20 International series 2-0 against the visitors, West Indies paid the price for a below-par batting performance as they fell to a six-wicket loss in the opening ODI at the Guyana National Stadium on Sunday.
Sent in to bat first, the home team made 149-9 in a contest reduced to 41 overs per side after rain delayed the start. West Indies have lost their last six ODI matches against Bangladesh but Pooran said he expects an end to that soon.
“We know Bangladesh has had us in the last couple of [ODI] series, but that’s okay. I feel like we’re still gonna win this series,” he said after the match. “We’ll get the opportunity to come again on Wednesday. We’ll review [Tuesday] and come up with better plans, and we’ll definitely punch back.”
West Indies will look to level the series when the teams meet again at least a second-round berth in his first season with the Spanish Town school.
“Our group is a very tough group,” he said. “You have teams that can do damage but we think will get out of the zone and try to move on.
“Last year, they nearly made the second round and, considering that we will have most of those players, we will try to get a balance.
“We expect to be ultra competitive. We will try to bring in good players to enhance the team and we will try to hit the ground running.”
Waite left for Wolmer’s Boys’ School last month. in the second ODI on Wednesday at the same venue.
“We just need to continue believing, staying in the fight,” the skipper said.
He acknowledged that West Indies did not put enough runs on the board in the first match and that the loss of prolific batsman Shai Hope in the first ball of the second over was a blow to the regional side.
“He’s our best batsman in this format and losing him first ball [was] tough …. But we know the guy, we know he’s gonna come back,” Pooran said, adding that the bowlers could also have done better in the power play.
Although disappointed with the outcome of Sunday’s game, he applauded the team’s performance on the field.
“We definitely have been fielding better as a group – taking catches, diving around. It is a really young team. We reflect a lot, we do a lot of homework and we’re trying to get better as a team and as cricketers,” the Trinidadian said.
“You see the guys running around with energy and I can’t ask for any more as a captain on the field. I just hope that we can continue to learn, we could continue to get the support of the management and the coaching staff, the fans, the media, and everyone. Just continue to back us and I believe we will do brilliant things in the future.”