… Action commences tomorrow

WITH Demerara selectors naming their squad, led by Christopher Barnwell last Friday, to contest this year’s Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) senior Inter-county tournament that bowls off tomorrow with the limited overs format, both Berbice and Essequibo have followed suit.

For the Ancient County team, discarded West Indies middle order batsman Narsingh Deonarine will handle the reins of captaincy, with West Indies left-arm orthodox spinner Veerasammy Permaul as his deputy.
The Berbicians will be brimming with confidence as the defending champions in the four-day format of this tournament, having won last year’s rain-ruined tournament easily, following their 10-wicket victory over defending champions Demerara in the first round and first innings win over President’s XI in the previous round.
Apart from Deonarine and Permaul, they also have in their lineup Rajiv Ivan, the in-form Jonathan Foo, Anthony Bramble, Keon Joseph and his new-ball partner in the vast-improving Raun Johnson, who all have first class experience in various formats of the game for Guyana.
There is also West Indies Under-19 left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie-Kanhai, along with Kandasammy Surujnarine, Seon Hetmyer, Devon Clements and Romario Shepherd-DeJonge, who can all make up for the absence of Assad Fudadin and Devendra Bishoo, who along with Leon Johnson and Ronsford Beaton, left Guyana last Monday for a West Indies ‘A’ team encampment period in Barbados.
For the Cinderella County, while they will be missing tremendously the services of Beaton, they will also have to compete in the tournament without Kemo Paul and Akil Wallace, who will be representing the debut National Under-19 team in the tournament.
However, they have at their disposal, the unrelated Anthony and Ricardo Adams, who have been named captain and vice-captain respectively, while former national Under-19 skipper Royston Alkins has returned home to represent the Cinderella County.
Also selected to represent Essequibo is Anthony Ifill, who plays for Gandhi Youth Organisation in the Georgetown Cricket Association-organised tournaments, while brothers Royan and Norman Fredericks, Kevon Boodie and the hard-hitting Ricardo Peters are all in the Essequibo lineup.
The four-day format of the tournament, sponsored jointly by telecommunications giant Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company and insurance powerhouse Hand-in-Hand last year, will commence on September 18 with two matches.
Berbice will take on Demerara at the world renowned Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground while the National Under-19 team and Essequibo will clash at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) ground simultaneously.
The second round bowls off September 24 until 27 and features Essequibo and Berbice at DCC, while Demerara and National Under-19 square off at Everest and from September 30 to October 1. The final round will be contested when the Under-19 team and Berbice will meet at Wales and Demerara and Essequibo clash at GCC.
The National Under-19, Essequibo and Berbice teams, along with fixtures for both the one-day and four-day formats are listed below for your perusal:
Essequibo: Anthony Adams (captain), Ricardo Adams (v-captain), Royan Fredericks, Norman Fredericks, Kevon Boodie, Ricardo Peters, Royston Alkins, Vijay Surujpaul, Anthony Ifill, Hemchand Persaud, Eknauth Persaud, Mark Tyrell, Brian Herbert, Mark Gonsalves. Leroy Halls (manager), Vibert Johnson (coach).
Berbice: Narsingh Deonarine (cCaptain), Veerasammy Permaul (v-captain), Kandasammy Surujnarine, Seon Hetmyer, Devon Clements, Jonathan Foo, Rajiv Ivan, Anthony Bramble, Jason Sinclair, Romario Shepherd, Gudakesh Motie, Krishendat Ramoo, Keon Joseph, Raun Johnson. Albert Smith (manager), Hubern Evans (coach).
Guyana U-19: Brian Sattaur (captain), Sharaz Ramcharran (v-captain), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Shimron Hetmyer, Kemol Savory, Kemo Paul, Keon Morris, Balchan Baldeo, Daniel Basdeo, Steven Sankar, Akil Wallace, Nial Smith, Damion Waldron, Ronaldo Ali-Mohammed and Askay Homraj. David Black (manager), Adrian Amsterdam (coach).
50-Overs Fixture:

Round 1: (September 4) – Essequibo vs. Demerara at Wales; Berbice vs Guyana U-19 at DCC.
Round 2: (September 6) – Guyana U-19 vs Essequibo at DCC; Berbice vs Demerara at Everest.
Round 3: (September 8) – Berbice vs Essequibo at Everest; Demerara vs Guyana U-19 at GCC.
Final: September 13; Alternate day: September 14.
Four-Day Fixture:
Round 1: (September 18-21) – Berbice vs Demerara at GCC; Guyana U-19 vs Essequibo at DCC.
Round 2: (September 24-27) – Essequibo vs Berbice at DCC; Demerara vs Guyana U-19 at Everest.
Round 3: (September 30 – October 3) – Guyana U-19 vs Berbice at Wales; Demerara vs Essequibo at GCC.

(By Calvin Roberts)