Johannesburg - With just two days to go before the start of the Airtel Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20), the Caribbean Twenty20 (T20) champions Guyana arrived in Johannesburg on Wednesday to complete the line-up of teams for the cricketing extravangza.

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Although Guyana are a relatively inexperienced team, captain Ramnaresh Sarwan was upbeat about his team’s chances in the competition. 
“Trinidad and Tobago were the runners-up last time, and we hope to go one better,” he said. “They did so well last year, when they weren’t expected to, and we beat them in the Caribbean T20, so that gives us lots of confidence.”

He said Guyana’s confidence had also been boosted by their performance in the Caribbean T20, which they won by beating Barbados in the final.  It was so nearly a different story – after confining Barbados to a very ordinary total of 134, Guyana collapsed to 78 for seven after 15.2 overs.

But Jonathan Foo came to the rescue, smashing 42 off 17 deliveries to snatch an historic one-wicket win, with one delivery left, and Guyana had qualified for CLT20.

“It’s important that we should do the things we did that helped us to win the Caribbean competition.  We have lots of young, inexperienced players, but they are all very capable to springing surprises on the other teams.  We just plan to stick to our game plans and keep it simple,” said Sarwan.

Foo, who turns 20 on Saturday, is one of the players to look out for in the tournament – he has a wide variety of shots and his swashbuckling style will appeal to CLT20 spectators.

“He has a great future ahead of him,” said Sarwan.  “I think he could be another Kieron Pollard.”

Another hero for Guyana is off-spinner Lennox Cush, who twice took four wickets in the league section of the Caribbean tournament. 

Sarwan said he thought the T20 format was an ideal way for young players to be introduced to international cricket. 

“It’s a great opportunity for them and they are not under as much pressure as they would be in a longer match.  But I think players like Foo and some of the others have a great future in Test and one-day cricket as well.”

Guyana’s first match is against the Royal Challengers Bangalore at Centurion on Sunday.

Tickets for CLT20 are Tavailable from Computicket.

Tickets are priced from R30 to R200.

Fans can also purchase tickets directly from the host venues.

Key features of the Airtel CLT20 Format :

• 10 Teams divided into 2 Groups of 5
• Top 2 Teams from each Group advance to the Semi Finals
• 23 Matches in total (same as 2009)
• Group A – Chennai Super Kings, Warriors, Victorian Bushrangers, Wayamba Elevens, Central Stags
• Group B – Mumbai Indians, Highveld Lions, South Australian Redbacks, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Guyana
• 5 Double Headers
• Matches evenly distributed across four venues
• Semi Finals in Durban and Centurion
• Final in Johannesburg