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HAVING carted off this year’s top prize in the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) sponsored nationwide 10/10 softball tournament, coupled with other tournament wins for 2012, Regal XI is looking to finish the year on a high.
This is according to the team’s founder member Mahendra ‘Anil’ Hardyal, who took time out from his busy schedule to respond to questions as it relates to his team and their chances in the final of the Guyana Floodlight Softball Cricket Association (GFSCA) tournament which culminates today at the Everest Cricket Club ground.
The Regal Masters will oppose Floodlights Seniors in the 20/20 final from 0:930hrs while their Open counterparts will take on Herstelling in that category’s final, which will be a 15 overs aside contest, in the third final of today’s event, following the female 10/10 clash between Trophy Stall Angels and Mike’s Wellwoman.
According to Hardyal, the team which lost out in the Georgetown zone finals of the 2010 GT&T tournament to eventual winners Trophy Stall, and in the semifinals at the National Stadium of the 2011 edition to Wolf Warriors, who went onto cart off the title, used last year’s runner up finish in the Guyana Cup as their eye opener.
Hardyal believes also that the success of the Over-40 team who defeated the East Coast based Savage in the final of the Guyana Cup last year, served as an inspiration to the team this year, even though their defence in this year’s Guyana Softball Cup 2 was an unsuccessful one.
“We started by targeting the tournaments we want to win and worked towards that goal, taking it one match at a time, beginning with the smaller tournaments, followed by the GT&T tournament and now the GFSCA Open and Over-40 titles respectively.”
Reflecting on the Over-40 lineup, Hardyal believes it’s a well balanced side that has been undergoing a rigorous training session for the past month or so, in preparation for the Guyana Cup.
“Three (3) times a week, the Over-40 team would be engaged in practice sessions, doing batting, bowling, catching and fielding, and I think that that in itself, is a plus for us since it gives us a head start over the other teams,” said Hardyal.
Quizzed on whom he feels will provide the Over-40 lineup with strong opposition, Hardyal said none since all the teams are locally based and have been divided with players from some teams going and represent other teams, hence no one is a threat.
“We are the biggest threat to ourselves. The way how we are playing right now, I don’t see an Over-40 team defeating us, only we can beat ourselves and with the hunger within both the Over-40 and Open teams, I don’t see that occurring anytime soon.
We need to let the local softball fraternity know that the Regal Over-40 team is a championship team and if they wish to take that title from us, then they would have to come pretty good and work hard to do so, as we have no intentions of relinquishing that honour.
This year is a very productive one for us and we wish to end it on a high, to give us a chance to start 2013 on a much more positive mode,” posited Hardyal.
He identified players of the calibre of the hard hitting Lance Adams, Mahesh Chunilall, Troy Kippins, Raymond Harper, skipper Mahendra Arjune and himself as the tower of strength within the Over-40 lineup.
For the Open team in today’s fixture, Patrick Rooplall, Richard Latiff, Troy Kippins, Chien Gittens, Krishna Balgobin, Pritvi Motilall and Mohammed Ayume, will lead their challenge.
Certainly with the high level of confidence being exhumed from Hardyal, the Regal XI which will contest both the Over-40 and Open categories of the GFSCA tournament will seek to vindicate Hardyal’s desire to finish 2012 on a high.
This is according to the team’s founder member Mahendra ‘Anil’ Hardyal, who took time out from his busy schedule to respond to questions as it relates to his team and their chances in the final of the Guyana Floodlight Softball Cricket Association (GFSCA) tournament which culminates today at the Everest Cricket Club ground.
The Regal Masters will oppose Floodlights Seniors in the 20/20 final from 0:930hrs while their Open counterparts will take on Herstelling in that category’s final, which will be a 15 overs aside contest, in the third final of today’s event, following the female 10/10 clash between Trophy Stall Angels and Mike’s Wellwoman.
According to Hardyal, the team which lost out in the Georgetown zone finals of the 2010 GT&T tournament to eventual winners Trophy Stall, and in the semifinals at the National Stadium of the 2011 edition to Wolf Warriors, who went onto cart off the title, used last year’s runner up finish in the Guyana Cup as their eye opener.
Hardyal believes also that the success of the Over-40 team who defeated the East Coast based Savage in the final of the Guyana Cup last year, served as an inspiration to the team this year, even though their defence in this year’s Guyana Softball Cup 2 was an unsuccessful one.
“We started by targeting the tournaments we want to win and worked towards that goal, taking it one match at a time, beginning with the smaller tournaments, followed by the GT&T tournament and now the GFSCA Open and Over-40 titles respectively.”
Reflecting on the Over-40 lineup, Hardyal believes it’s a well balanced side that has been undergoing a rigorous training session for the past month or so, in preparation for the Guyana Cup.
“Three (3) times a week, the Over-40 team would be engaged in practice sessions, doing batting, bowling, catching and fielding, and I think that that in itself, is a plus for us since it gives us a head start over the other teams,” said Hardyal.
Quizzed on whom he feels will provide the Over-40 lineup with strong opposition, Hardyal said none since all the teams are locally based and have been divided with players from some teams going and represent other teams, hence no one is a threat.
“We are the biggest threat to ourselves. The way how we are playing right now, I don’t see an Over-40 team defeating us, only we can beat ourselves and with the hunger within both the Over-40 and Open teams, I don’t see that occurring anytime soon.
We need to let the local softball fraternity know that the Regal Over-40 team is a championship team and if they wish to take that title from us, then they would have to come pretty good and work hard to do so, as we have no intentions of relinquishing that honour.
This year is a very productive one for us and we wish to end it on a high, to give us a chance to start 2013 on a much more positive mode,” posited Hardyal.
He identified players of the calibre of the hard hitting Lance Adams, Mahesh Chunilall, Troy Kippins, Raymond Harper, skipper Mahendra Arjune and himself as the tower of strength within the Over-40 lineup.
For the Open team in today’s fixture, Patrick Rooplall, Richard Latiff, Troy Kippins, Chien Gittens, Krishna Balgobin, Pritvi Motilall and Mohammed Ayume, will lead their challenge.
Certainly with the high level of confidence being exhumed from Hardyal, the Regal XI which will contest both the Over-40 and Open categories of the GFSCA tournament will seek to vindicate Hardyal’s desire to finish 2012 on a high.
