FOLLOWING their impressive showing in the first round against Demerara, perennial whipping boys Essequibo should be brimming with confidence over the next three days, when they take on the National Under-17 lineup in the second round of the Guyana Cricket Board/Raj Singh Insurance Under-19 Inter-county three day tournament commencing from today at the Demerara Cricket Club ground.At the same time, Berbice, who defeated the national colts by 10 wickets inside two days in their first round fixture at Wales, will oppose Demerara at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground, with both matches set to commence from 10:00hrs each day, unless otherwise stipulated.
In their first round fixture which was contested at the Everest Cricket Club ground, left arm orthodox spinner Keanu Harry took 7 for 66 to bowl out Demerara for 261 and even though the Essequibians fell short by 35 runs, it was impressive to see them bat for 96 overs, with several batsmen getting starts.
According to reports, the team had a two week encampment period prior to the start of this tournament and judging from the performances seen to date, such a gesture by the Essequibo Cricket Board must be commended.
With the expected return of talented all-rounder Kemo Paul from the West Indies Under-19 camp in Barbados, the Travis Drakes led Essequibo unit will certainly be licking their lips at the opposition, whom they are expected to defeat and bolster their chances of finishing within the top two of the tournament.
Apart from Harry, Looknauth Chinkoo and Akini Adams was impressive with the ball, while the new ball pair of Neiland Cadogan and Jadewnel Hartman, can set tongues wagging on the DCC track, which can offer tremendous assistance to the fast men who are prepared to work hard.
Along with Drakes and Paul, there is Parmesh Parsotam and Sachin Persaud, who can all chip in heavily with the ball if needed by the Vibert Johnson coached side, even though Harry who plies his trade at DCC, would be expected to do the bulk of the bowling in partnership with Chinkoo, on his home track.
It was exciting to see wicketkeeper/batsman Nathan Persaud launch into the Demerara team bowling in the second innings when presented with a target of 216, and along with Paul, Harry, Parsotam and David Williams, should be a threat to the opposition for this second round fixture.
With that in mind, National Under-17 coach Garvin Nedd will not be too pleased with the returns shown by his charges in the first round loss, especially since they are using the tournament to prepare for the Regional Under-17 tournament.
Cricket fans can see the return of Nedd’s son in national Under-15 left arm spinner Ashmead Nedd, who is budding into an impressive all-rounder, for the National Under-17 lineup which will be led by Ronaldo Ali-Mohammed.
Bhaskar Yadram, Raymond Perez, Joshua Persaud, Adrian Sukhwah, Kevin Sinclair, Steve Deonarine, Sylus Tyndall and Ramnarine Chatura, all have impressive performances for their respective clubs at levels higher than the Under-17 team they are representing.
But why they put on such a pathetic batting display against the team from the Ancient County, gifting their wickets away with reckless shots is unknown, but certainly Nedd would be on their backs like another layer of skin, for a much improved performance against Essequibo.
At GCC, Demerara who will be led by Travis Persaud will oppose a Balchand Baldeo led Berbice team who like Essequibo is expected to be further strengthened with the return of pugnacious opener Shimron Hetmyer to their lineup.
Selecting a winner between these two teams is very hard despite their contrasting first round results, but what is certain is the side which play the better cricket consistently and display the will and discipline to win, will come out victorious be it on first innings or outright.
Both Baldeo and Hetmyer were members of the Guyana Under-19 team which completed the historic double in the West Indies Cricket Board Regional Under-19 tournament held here last year, with Brian Sattaur being the man at the helm.
They are expected to lead from the front, even though the Ancient County team is filled with players who have already donned their respective team’s first division cap and did so with incredible performances.
Leon Andrews, Ritesh Omroa, Samuel Kisnasammy, Brandon Prashad, Kassim Khan and Daniel Lewis, are all expected to support both Baldeo and Hetmyer with the bat, while Grisean Grant will control the new ball and remove the sheen, so that Baldeo, Khan, Lewis and Kisnasammy can do their stuff with spin.
With a lineup that includes Tevin Imloch, Shurfane Rutherford, skipper Travis Persaud, Ronaldo Renee, Malcolm Hubbard, Akshaya Persaud, Daniel Basdeo, Tariq Dharamlall, Vivian Albert, Carlton Jacques and Ershad Alli, no one would expect Demerara to perform poorly in this tournament.
But cricket is a game of glorious uncertainty, as was evident when Essequibo had them rocking on 42 for 4 in their second innings and the above mentioned list of players have within them, the ability to bat and score heavily, since they would have done it on numerous occasions for their clubs at levels higher than this Under-19 tournament.
Jacques and Basdeo are the men tasked with taking care of the new ball, but except for the second innings against Essequibo, they both looked ordinary and out of sorts and were it not for the efforts of Rutherford, Hubbard and Akshaya Persaud, the Essequibians would have piled on the runs in their first innings and even surpass Demerara’s total.
The toss in both encounters will be an important factor, since it may or may not dictate the outcome of the contests, but what is for sure, two exciting second round fixtures arer on the cards, weather permitting.

By Calvin Roberts