… Singh in for Chanderpaul
FOLLOWING their emphatic showing in the first practice game which was played on a flat Police Sports Club ground two weeks ago, the Invitational XI will be fancying their chances when they go up against the National squad in a three-day practice game commencing from today at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground.

The members of the national squad conduct a stretching exercise during their short but brief net session at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground yesterday. (Photo by Calvin Roberts)

Meanwhile, dependable middle-order batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been ruled out of the tournament, due to a finger injury which is preventing the left-hander him from getting a good grip on his bat and has been replaced by Vishal Singh, who made his regional first-class debut last year and was also a prominent scorer in the Guyana Cricket Board’s (GCB) four-team competition played late last year.

In the last game the Invitational XI who were playing as the Rest XI, bowled out their opponents for 306, with the in-form Assad Fudadin, who led the team in the absence of both Ramnaresh Sarwan and Sewnarine Chattergoon the appointed captain and vice-captain respectively, getting a ton.

But it was the bowling of spinners Totaram Bishun and Steven Latcha which left the national players, who were selected to represent the country in the upcoming West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) President’s Cup four-day competition, in a quandary, something the coach Ravindranauth Seeram was quick to point out.

“I thought both Latcha and Bishun were bowling great in tandem and to my mind, the batsmen in the middle order, were not picking Bishun and this is a sign of concern for us,” said Seeram.

This time around, the middle-order will be boosted with the return of West Indies middle order batsmen Sarwan, the in-form Narsingh Deonarine and Travis Dowlin, who is expected to get the innings started with Chattergoon, with Singh once again looking to impress in the middle.

Deonarine is in fine form, coming off a splendid 82 for the West Indies in the final Test against Australia at Adelaide, albeit in a losing cause, but he will be looking to continue his run-scoring spree which began early last year when he became the first batsman to score over 1 000 in a WICB first class season.

Add Sarwan who had a magnificent series against England, Chanderpaul, Fudadin and to a lesser extent Royston Crandon, wicketkeeper Derwin Christian and Esaun Crandon to the fray, certainly Seeram and company can expect a much better performance from their charges, especially with Sarwan who is known for his no-nonsense approach with the players, at the helm.

The bowling is definitely another area of concern for Seeram, who pointed out the fact that the bowlers did not put the ball in the right areas in the last game, something he would definitely hope they will do this time around, especially on another flat wicket, as the venue is known to be a batsman’s paradise.

Left-arm orthodox spinner Veerasammy Permaul was a standout in the bowling department, especially in the absence of his spin twin and club mate Devendra Bishoo, who had the flu bug, while Brandon Bess, who is being asked to bowl fast, conceded all 23 no-balls his team sent down. He also conceded 84 runs from 16 overs for a solitary wicket up to when play was called off at tea, with the Rest XI on 358.

In that score, discarded all-rounder Christopher Barnwell reminded the selectors of his potential, when he struck 11 fours and three maximums in his 199-ball 116 before he was bowled by Permaul (7-116) and along with Krishna Arjune who made a resilient 66, added 171 for the first wicket.

Shemroy Barrington also contributed a worthy 32 while national Under-19 vice-captain Royston Alkins made 31, but what bothered Seeram and the other selectors is batsmen on both teams getting starts and failing to build on them, and that in itself has been a major humbug with our cricketers at all levels of late.

Former West Indies youth captains Leon Johnson and Steven Jacobs failed miserably beyond their standards in that game, while Singh who was unfortunate not to gain the selectors’ nod for the final 13, made 68 for the National side, as a replacement for one of the four West Indies middle order batsmen.

How well they can rectify this in this match which may be the final practice game, surprisingly, during the night, when one takes into consideration Guyana’s first match will be played under the lights against Trinidad and Tobago in Antigua, is left to be seen over the next three days, especially with Chanderpaul, Deonarine, Sarwan and Dowlin all being present.

Teams for this encounter will come from:
National XI: Ramnaresh Sarwan, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Travis Dowlin, Assad Fudadin, Vishal Singh, Narsingh Deonarine, Royston Crandon, Derwin Christian, Veerasammy Permaul, Esaun Crandon, Devendra Bishoo, Trevor Benn and Brandon Bess.

Invitational XI: Leon Johnson, Rajendra Chandrika, Shemroy Barrington, Christopher Barnwell, Steven Jacobs, Dion Ferrier, Krishna Arjune, Wasim Haslim, Anthony Bramble, Keron Fraser, Totaram Bishun, Trevon Garraway and Steven Latcha.
Play is expected to commence at 09:30 h each day, weather permitting.