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By Neto Baptiste
Legendary former fast bowler and mentor with the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons, Sir Curtly Ambrose, said he is not worried about recent low scores from top order batter and Antiguan, Karima Gore.
Speaking on the Good Morning Jojo Sports Show, Sir Curtly revealed that he has spoken with Gore and has reassured the player that the present run of poor luck is not an indication that his tournament is over, urging him to remain focused and positive.
“I had a word with Karima Gore. He started off in magnificent form, played some top knocks for us and the last couple of innings he played, he didn’t get off. But what I said to him was simply this: it’s not a lack of form so don’t try to change anything and start to think that you’re out of form.
“He’s not out of form; he has just been unlucky the last couple of innings and I’m quite sure that another good innings is around the corner. So that’s all I said to him – don’t go away thinking that you’re out of form; you’re not. It happens to every player where you get some good deliveries and you’re dismissed for nothing so just be positive and continue to focus and the next big score is around the corner,” he said.
Gore has scored 219 runs across eight innings with a highest of 64 not out. He opened his campaign with 61 against the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots on August 14; 64 not out against Barbados Royals two days later, and then making just 10 against the Trinbago Knight Riders on August 20.
The Antiguan then made 31 against the Guyana Amazon Warriors before returning to hit 52 not out against the Patriots. Gore then had consecutive ducks against TKR and the St Lucia Kings before going for just one against the Royals in the team’s latest match.
Asked about young Jewel Andrew who was dropped from the Falcons team for their last match against Barbados Royals, Sir Curtly said the decision was more strategic than performance-based.
“The good thing about this Falcons team is whenever we sit down to select a team, it’s never easy to come up with a final 11 and that, to me, makes a team strong because from my little experience, if you go to a selection meeting to pick an 11 and you select that 11 in a couple of minutes, it simply means you don’t have a good team. So with us, it’s always going to be difficult to come up with a final 11 and guys are going to be left out. It’s nothing to do with the ability; it’s just that that’s the way cricket is and Jewel is no different; we try to come up with the best possible 11 to suit that particular game and that’s the way it is,” he said.
Antigua and Barbuda Falcons play the Guyana Amazon Warriors in their final preliminary fixture on Wednesday at providence in Guyana. The match bowls off at 5 pm.
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