 So let's shift our focus now to cricket, despite a year characterised by the West Indies failing to qualify for the 50 of a World Cup, one Caribbean country celebrating their 2023 achievements. The Guyana Cricket Board is acknowledging a record number of selections at the highest level in both senior and junior cricket. At least two Guyanese players were selected to every West Indies assignment in 2023, with five representing West Indies A on their tour of South Africa in November and six on the women's A-team tour of Pakistan in October. There was also a lot to celebrate in the Caribbean Premier League as 11 players were selected to represent two franchises during the tournament that saw the Guyana Amazon Warriors end a decade long title drop. I'll join us to reflect on the past year as operations manager of the Guyana Cricket Board, Anthony Dianrad. Anthony, welcome to the Sportsmax zone. It's great to have you on. A lot going right for Guyanese cricket at the moment. What's the reason for that? Yeah, thank you. Good evening to all of you. Well, 2023, as you mentioned, was a record year for us, especially at the West Indies level, where we had representatives at all levels, both male and female. And recently, two players have been named and the West Indies on a 19 squad, which will be heading to South Africa in another few days for the Youth World Cup. And we talk about Red Bull Cricket, Anthony, that it really is the basis of developing good technical cricketers. And I know that the Guyanese have won six of the last eight completed seasons in the four-day regional competition. That has to be something that your board is very proud about. Yeah, definitely, definitely. Red Bull Cricket, as we know, leads to Test Cricket and is very high on the agenda in the West Indies as well as our own world. We focus a lot on Red Bull Cricket and we prioritise the Red Bull Cricket because, obviously, the goal for every cricketer should be to represent West Indies and to play Test Cricket. Yeah, can you talk to us quickly about the infrastructure of Guyanese cricket, especially your youth programme, because for decades, Guyanese have been very strong in under 15, under 17, which is a recent inclusion in the West Indies programme and also under 19 crickets. So can you just briefly talk about the grassroots infrastructure that is in place in Guyanese to develop these cricketers? Okay, so what we've had in the past was the customary on the 15, under 17, on a 19-age group cricket. But recently, just two years ago, I think, was December 2022, the GCB in collaboration with the Trindad and Tobago Cricket Board initiated on a 13-level cricket. So we've had two bilateral series, which is between Guyanese and the Trindad on a 13 team. The fourth one, the annual one, was in December 2022, Trindad won that series here in Guyano. And back in August last year, we won a return visit to one. In addition to that, last August, in partnership with Republic Bank, who was the sponsor, we implemented an under-23 inter-club competition. So we now have the under-13 competition, which is also played at the inter-county level. And we've had the implementation of the under-23 age group cricket as well. This year, we're looking to also have the inter-county under-23 tournament as part of all cricket activities for the calendar year. Yes, seems like a really, really packed season I have to ask on behalf of the females. How important and how much precedence does the GCB put on women's cricket? Because I saw some really interesting developments coming on the women's side. So talk to me about that. Well, this administration back in 2021, when it came in and took charge, wanted to focus a lot on women's cricket and not leave them behind. So what we did is we appointed a head coach for the women's cricket, as well as an assistant coach. And we now have female training programs across Guyano. So it's not just the males training on a regular basis. We have organized female training sessions happening year round. How much do you think that has benefited the ladies? And did you notice if more young stars, young girls are becoming interested in playing cricket for their country? Yes, definitely. We've had a lot more interest when it comes to the under-19 cricket. When we had the trials, we had over 40 persons or females starting out to that trial last year. Also, if you noticed from the female aspect of the CPL, we had quite a few more Guyanese players participating in the last female CPL or women's CPL. Yeah, definitely noticed that. And of course, we want to encourage you and the GCB to continue the good work where women's cricket is concerned. You mentioned the CPL and wow, Guyano finally got that off their back, able to walk away with the CPL title. You're smiling. And I understand because whenever we spoke on this show, we always spoke about Guyano being one of the top challenges for the CPL. I remember that season. You all went undefeated throughout the entire season and lost the most important match, the final. So that was 2015. So how good does it feel to finally get that off your back? Well, I think I can speak for our Guyanese when I say we are very, very proud. They say, as the saying goes, good things comes to those who wait. And I think we've waited quite a long time, the 10th edition to be able to win that first title, that elusive title. So I think we still celebrate it. I think there are Guyanese across Guyano that still celebrate that title and remember it. Yeah, and well, you know, well deserved. If I was you, I would celebrate until the next CPL to ensure that the fans did not forget. Of course, you know, what you had to do to get to this point. What I also find commendable is, you know, CPL is franchise cricket. And of course, it's a mix of different players from different countries. But this Guyano Amazon Warrior team consisted of nine players who belonged to Guyano. And again, that speaks to the work and the volume of work that you and your team have been doing when it comes to the development of cricket in Guyano. Yes, definitely. And I think with the inclusion of all those Guyanese, it is a testimony to the talent we have here in Guyano and the work we've been putting in for the past few years. When you think about the future, because it's the beginning of a new year and, you know, most bodies, most organizations, they sit down, they plan ahead, they have goals. What is your organization looking forward to? Short term, of course. But for this year, obviously, we're looking forward to winning our original tournaments, both male and female, as well as the youth cricket. We want to be able to implement the under-23 at the inter-county level. So that's for local cricket. The under-23, you want to have it at the local level, the inter-county level. And hopefully, sometime in the near future, Westinese could adapt our vision and have the under-23 being implemented at the regional level as well. Also, we're in the process of adding an analyst full-time to the Guyan Harpe Eagles setup. Recently, with the help of the CWI, we've all franchises have added the strength and condition in coach. And that was last year. So that is a step in the right direction when it comes to, or if you're talking about having a professional system or a professional setup. So we would want to have a full-time analyst, because we've never had that at the GCB level. It's always been a part-time deal for us. And it's only done at the regional level whenever we have regional competitions. So we want to have that full-time analyst to be able to work with the team day in, day out, just like the strength and condition in coach, just like the physiotherapists, just like the head coach. Be able to have that access to that type of technology and that type of training. Also, we recently renamed the territorial development department to the cricket operations department. A part of the department is going to, we're going to add a database where we want to have information or data on all local cricketers. So it's not when they get to the, it's not when they only when they get to the NHRP level or the senior level that they will have information or the coaches would have information on the players. We want to be able to have that information from the junior level as low as on the 30. So that is something that we are working very diligently on trying to implement in our plans. Okay. So Anthony, I can see that your team has already met and they have plans in place. We're going to take a quick break. So I don't want you to go anywhere because when we come back, we'll continue to pick up the discussion. So stay right there, viewers. We're just taking a quick break. We're talking to the operations manager at the Guyana Cricket Board, Anthony D'Andrea. Let's take a quick break. We're coming right back.