After three successive outright defeats by Barbados, Jamaica and most recently the Windward Islands, the Guyana selectors finally bit the bullet and yesterday made four welcome but not unexpected changes to the senior Carib Beer cricket squad.

Axed are middle-order batsmen Andre Percival and Lennox Cush, leg spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo and opener Azeemul Haniff. They have been replaced by talented teenager Leon Johnson, who slammed a century on his inter-county debut against Essequibo, Zaheer Mohamed, Damodar Dasrat and Hemnarine Harrinarine.

Neil Mc Garrell who showed a lot of grit, determination and `guts' when his team was falling apart retains the captaincy while Travis Dowlin has been promoted as vice captain.

Retained also are openers Sewnarine Chattergoon and Krishna Arjune, middle-order batsman Narsingh Deonarine, wicket-keeper Vishal Nagamootoo and pacers Reon Thomas, Rayon Griffith and Esaun Crandon.

Guyana tackle the Leeward Islands at the Enmore Community Centre ground from tomorrow at 10am and a much better performance is expected from the new-look team.

Reached for a comment coach Albert Smith told Stabroek Sport that the changes were inevitable. According to him poor shot selection and a lack of commitment to the Guyana cause in addition to poor match preparation before the tournament were some of the bugbears. However, the coach added that prior to the Windwards game, the team had team meetings and discussed strategy and a host of other initiatives to improve their performance. He said, however, that when the batsmen went out into the middle they seemed to have forgotten what had been discussed needed to be done. Smith however lauded the performances of the three fast bowlers Esaun Crandon, Reon Griffith and Rayon Thomas and said that as the tournament progressed they got better. He also singled out captain Neil Mc Garrel for praise and said that he showed a lot of `fight' and courage when faced with difficult situations.

Asked about Travis Dowlin's promotion to the vice-captain position, Smith said that while much more is expected of him the player was one of the most senior players on the team. Smith also dubbed Leon Johnson as one of the young players to watch in the near future and said that he can go a far way once he is committed. He also gave high marks to another youngster Zaheer Mohammed who he said could bat and bowl. Damodar Dasrat according to the coach has been knocking on the selectors door for sometime as well as Hemnarine Harrinarine. Smith is hoping that the Guyana team with this injection of fresh, young blood can do better in the remaining matches.

The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) is asking that all the out of town players report to the Waterchris Hotel today at 9am following which a practice match will be held at the GCC ground Bourda starting at 1pm.