… Lucrative cash prizes up for grabs
THE Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) will be buzzing with activity from 10:00 h today, as members host their Easter Sunday Big Bash 10/10 four-team cricket tournament. Lucrative cash prizes will be up for grabs in the final, which will be a Twenty20 affair.
Revenge will certainly be on the minds of the host team who come up against their nemesis Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) in the first match in a tournament, which will be played like a sixes tournament.
It was dubbed a ‘Phagwah Melee’ last Phagwah Day, when GCC romped to an easy victory over their opponents and with West Indies middle order batsmen Travis Dowlin along with Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul set to feature for DCC and GCC respectively, calling this one may be difficult for cricket enthusiasts.
Apart from Dowlin, the aggressive Guyana and West Indies Under-19 opener Trevon ‘Buggsy’ Griffith, Jamal Hinckson, Denver Greaves, Dennis ‘Bitterman’ Squires, Jermaine Horatio, Kester Hardcourt and Kevin George are all expected to don the maroon and off-white for the Queenstown-based host team.
While Sarwan has confirmed he will be donning the blues for the GCC team, a question mark still lingers on the appearance for the Bourda Blues of Chanderpaul who is the number 11th-ranked batsman in the world.
However, Leon Johnson who successfully led the team against DCC in the ‘Phagwah Melee’, Vishal ‘Cheesy’ Singh, Wasim Haslim, Tyrell Tull, Jeetendra Sookdeo, Winston Nelson, Ricardo Jadunauth and Treon Forde are all expected to feature in the opening match.
The other match of the day will see the New Line Cavaliers (NLC), led by national middle order batsman Gajanand Singh, take on Everest Cricket Club (ECC) in what should be an exciting challenge.
Singh will be receiving support from Chabiraj Ramcharran, Paul Wintz, Anthony Ifill, the hard-hitting Andrew Lyght Jr, Cowen Ismond, Chien Gittens, Teralph Scipio, guest player Orin Forde and wicketkeeper/bastman Maxwell Fraser.
The Camp Road-based ECC side have long been awaiting the opportunity to oppose the Canal Number Two-based NLC team and with same being presented today, they will be hoping that former national Under-19 fast bowler Leon Scott walk with his ‘A’ game to restrict the runs-scoring spree of the opposition who will be looking to Lyght Jr to set the base for a solid score.
Scott, along with former West Indies Under-15 leg-spinner Amir Khan, skipper Abhilash Dookie, Christopher Patadin, Troy Gonsalves, veteran David Harper and Javed Rasheed will have his work cut out in the bowling department.
The batting will hinge around Harper, Dookie, Patadin, Gonsalves, Joseph Perry, Ryan Ramdass, Ryan Rajmangal and Surendra Heeralall.
The final, which will be a 20/20 affair, will have a trophy which will be named after the late Andrew Lyght (Sr), a former Guyana and West Indies ‘B’ team opening batsman, up for grabs while the first runner-up, man-of-the-match and most valuable player of the day’s proceedings will all be presented with a trophy and cash incentive.
The fun and frolic continues tomorrow with the Annual Easter Monday kite-flying extravaganza with free admission, along with a well-stocked bar being made available to meet the needs of those who will be winding their way down to the venue today and tomorrow.
Today’s event is sponsored Trophy Stall, Lifetime Real Estate, Guyana Stores Incorporated, P&P Insurance, Hardin Mining, Friends of DCC and the Executives of DCC, who all plan to make it a successful event, with a view of making it an annual one.