… lose back-to-back games to Select team
THE University of Guyana (UG) cricket team continued their preparation for next month’s Inter-Collegiate 20/20 competition in Barbados, with two practice matches at their home ground on Wednesday.

The students lost both of the games to a Select X1, captained by former Guyana 20/20 wicketkeeper/batsman Tyrell Tull and will hope to play another practice game next week before departing Guyana in January.

The UG side will be managed by Seivwright Benjamin and coached by former Guyana and West Indies fast bowler, Colin Stuart, and will need to improve their batting if they hope to make an impression in the competition which includes campuses from Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.

Fast bowler Jermaine Reynolds should spearhead the spin-based bowling attack, as off-spinners Dhaniram Seepersaud, Richard Chaturia, Godfrey Thakurdin and Rovin Crawford could do the bulk of the bowling on the hard Bajan tracks.

In the absence of some of the UG students who play division one cricket for other clubs and have not been considered for selection, the left-handed Chaturia is the team’s most accomplished batman and will hope for support from Reynolds, Tyrone English and Pameshwar Persaud in conditions which should favour fast bowling.

UG have been fairly competitive in the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) second division competitions and although their elevation to first division status by the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) has raised several eyebrows in the local cricket fraternity, there are several talented players in the side even if as a unit they are far from first division standard.

UG competed in the Inter-Campus 20/20 competitions in 2006, 2007 and this year after missing last year’s tournament largely due to a lack of sponsorship support.

Tull, arguably Guyana’s best wicketkeeper, has lost a lot of weight recently on his comeback trail and allowed former Guyana Under-19 wicketkeeper Delroy Jacobs and ex-Guyana youth all-rounder Kellon Carmichael to share the duties behind the stumps in the two games.

In the first match, Guyana Defence Force’s (GDF) Marcus Watkins (himself a UG student) batted splendidly on a slow track and rough outfield to make an unbeaten 72 and with support from Georgetown Cricket Club’s (GCC) teenager Winston Forrester who seemed unlucky to be adjudged lbw for 48, guided the Select XI to 177-4 at the end of their 20 overs.

Reynolds counter-attacked early in the UG reply with 36 but only Persaud (17) and Clifford Osbourne (12) of the other batsmen reached double figures in sweltering heat, as the students of Guyana’s highest educational institution failed to reach their target of 178, as they were bowled out for 119.

GCC left-arm spinner Trevon France took 3-19 from 2.1 overs, Demerara Under-19 player Delon Fernandes 2-19, former national youth off-spinner cum journalist Sean Devers 2-20 and leg-spinner Richard Kansinally 2-33 bowled their team to victory.

In the second game, the UG bowlers produced a much better performance to restrict the Select XI to 131-9 from their 20 overs, with Jacobs (35) and his fellow GDF teammate Travis Blyden who made 12, adding 40 for the first wicket.   

Thakurdin took 3-11 from 2 overs, Crawford 2-20 from 2 and Chaturia 2-33 from 4 for the hosts who crashed to 91 all out despite 28 from Persaud, 16 from Reynolds and 12 from English.

Kansinally captured 3-14 from 3.1 overs while Devers, who plays for Malteenoes Sports Club in selected second division games, took 2-14 from 4 overs to send UG crashing to their second defeat.      

Meanwhile, the UG selectors have announced their 15-man touring squad to represent the institution in the tournament which will be held in the Land of the Flying Fish next month.

The squad reads: Tyrone English, Dhaniram Seepersaud, Godfrey Thakurdin, Richard Chuturia, Melroy Stephenson, Jermaine Reynolds, Rovin Crawford, Javier McDonald, Steve Rekheram, Earl Fortune, Dwayne Dodson, Parmeshwar Persaud, Darnell Douglas Clifford Osbourne, Rudolph McDonald, Colin Stuart (coach), Seivwright Benjamin (manager).