GCA/Cellink Plus First Division
MALTEENOES Sports Club (MSC) and Everest Cricket Club grounds will be a buzz of activity today, when the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA)/Cellink Plus sponsored two- day first division cricket competition semi- finals bowls off, with all four competitors expressing confidence ahead of today’s encounters.

At Thomas Lands, joint defending champions Guyana National Industrial Corporation (GNIC) and the home team MSC will do battle while at Camp Road, the Queenstown based Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) and home team Everest will face each other.

The MSC/GNIC clash should be one of interest, as both teams would be looking to outplay each other in the hope of proving who is the worthy champion and if the words of former Guyana and West Indies off- spinner cum WICB chairman of selectors Clyde Butts can be taken into context, a heated battle can be anticipated.

“It will be a good game, as we have always got a competitive one when we face them. Malteenoes has a good crop of young players, but the game is played on the field, therefore the team that plays the better cricket over the two days, will be the victorious one, with spin playing a major role in this fixture.”

While Butts was not mindful of placing a figure he would be looking to reduce his opponents under 200 if they chose to bowl first, he did say a small total will be the key whilst emphasising on a total above 300 if asked to take first strike, as first innings is the key in games such as these.

GNIC will be relying on the services of national Under-17 players in skipper and wicketkeeper/batsman Dexter Solomon and the belligerent Quincy Ovid-Richardson, Ranole Bourne, who is coming off of a five wicket haul in the last round against DCC, the veterans David Dick and Shawn De Souza as well as the father and son combination of Clyde and Collis Butts.

Skipper of MSC and former national and West Indies Under-19 captain and vice captain respectively Steven Jacobs told Chronicle Sport that his side will not be fazed by anything their opponents throw at them, as they have been a consistent unit throughout the competition.

“This is cricket and there is no room for complacency in a match of this nature, hence we will not be taking them (GNIC) lightly. We know what they will be throwing at us and we are prepared for it, but at the end of the day, it is the team that plays the better cricket and also shows that they want it, will come out on top.”

He further stated, “We will be looking for maximum batting points if asked to take first strike and with our batting line up which consists of a bunch of guys, some of whom are averaging over 50 in this tournament that should be achieved easily. Our bowling has been coming on leaps and bounds throughout the tournament also, thus restricting them to a manageable total should not be a difficult task for us.”

The home team will be calling on the services of Jacobs and national opener Shemroy Barrington, who recently returned from Canada, Danny Narayan who scored a double ton in the last round of the GCA/Raymond Panday/Cummings Electrical second division competition, Dion Ferrier, Orin Forde and Safraz Hussain.

When you add national Under-19 fast bowler Seon Daniels along with the competition’s leading wicket taker Damian Van Tull to the fray, MSC definitely have their work cut out for them in this match, where the winner whether on first innings points or outright, will guarantee themselves a place in the finals.

At Camp Road, the home team was cognisant of the fact that their opponents will be looking to pull out all stops in getting to the finals hence they have selected a squad balanced with youth and experience for this encounter.

National limited overs opener Rajendra Chandrika is back brimming with confidence and rearing to go, especially with the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Inter-county tournament just around the corner and with support from former national Under-19 players in Christopher Patadin and Troy Gonsalves, DCC can certainly expect a run for their money.

Former Guyana and West Indies Under-15 leg spinner Amir Khan, Ryan Rajmangal, Joseph Perry, Chanderpaul Hemraj, skipper Abhilash Dookie and the veteran Surendra Heeralall will be lending support to Chandrika and company.

In an invited comment, Dookie said that his side will be throwing all they have in their armory at their opponents with a spin based attack.

“National Under-19 fast bowler Leon Scott will be missing in action as he has not returned from overseas for this one, but when we make it into the final, rest assured he will be at the spearhead of our attack.”

“Having said that, the new ball will be taken care of by Patadin and myself, whilst Khan, Gonsalves, Hemraj, Heeralall and Javed Rasheed are expected to do the bulk of the bowling for us, as we seek to limit them to a score in the vicinity of 150 to 160 if asked to bowl first, whilst we will be looking to get over 300, as our aim is to bat once” said Dookie.

“We have left no stone unturned in our attempt to reach this far in the competition and it is with this in mind, that we will be entering the match with a batting lineup, looking to get over 350 if asked to bat first” said Dennis Squires.

He further stated, “We have an equally balanced team with a few all rounders who are capable of holding their own with the bat also and we are looking to come away with the championship but we can only do so if we play the right brand of cricket, which is positive cricket from ball one.”

They will be looking to the likes of Christopher Barnwell, Andrew Lyght Jnr, Darwin Christian, West Indies Under-19 selectee Trevon Griffith, Totaram Bishun, Deonauth Baksh, Trevon Garraway, Kevin George, Royston Alkins and Squires to take them past their opponents.

Action on both days commences at 09:30h., with Colin Alfred and Hortence Isaacs being the men in the middle at MSC while two of the country’s young umpires in Shannon Crawford and Nigel Duguid will direct the show at Everest.