THE die is cast and the stage set for the second annual DJ Stress Twenty20 Festival which bowls off at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, with two semi-finals and the grand finale under the lights today.
A plethora of stars both local and foreign will be on show, with defending champions Hotel Tower New Line Cavaliers pulling out all stops in their aim to retain the title they won last year and successfully defended two months later.
To that extent, their lineup includes talismanic Jamaica and West Indies opener Christopher Gayle, returning all-rounder Marlon Samuels and the Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) pair of Lendl Simmons and Rayad Emrit.
Add skipper Gajanand Singh, vice-captain Andre Percival, all-rounders Chien Gittens and Paul Wintz and national right-arm off- spinner Zaheer Mohammed (a new acquisition) to the lineup and certainly the opposing teams have their work cut out for them, while at the same time signalling the management team’s intentions of walking away with the title once again.
Not much can be said about their first-round opponents in T&T’s Moosai who are being sponsored by Digicom and have former Guyana and West Indies right-arm leg-spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo at the helm.
His deputy is Mario Belcon, a batsman who was a star performer with the bat for T&T in the inaugural Stanford 20/20 competition which was held in 2006, while former national Under-19 captain Troy Cornelius is in the lineup as well.
Also in the lineup are Shivanand Moosai, Emile and Isaiah Rajah, David Forbes, Miguel Nedd and Brian Heywood who are all capable players in their own right that can give Hotel Tower NLC a run for their money and with their management deciding to donate all their winnings to a local charity, Nagamootoo will be looking to upset the defending champions in their semifinal encounter.
The first match of the day bowls off at 10:00 h and pits last year’s runner-up Gizmos and Gadgets Georgetown Pitbulls against Berbice’s Universal DVD Club Titans, a clash that can be exciting from the first ball, taking into consideration the calibre of players on both sides.
For the Pitbulls, they can rely on the services of West Indies and T&T all-rounder Dwayne Bravo along with dependable West Indies middle-order batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who on his day, can tear any bowling attack apart.
Then there is amicable support in West Indies opener Travis Dowlin, the pugnacious pair of Christopher Barnwell and Trevon Griffith, skipper Leon Johnson, who has been having an incredible run in this form of the game lately, and Ravi Sarwan another destructive batsman when he gets going. 
The support cast also includes Guyana/Stanford 20/20 stars Lennox Cush and Dion Ferrier, Troy Gonsalves, national fast bowler Trevon Garraway, Steven Jacobs and national wicketkeeper/batsman Darwin Christian.
But the Berbicians are no pushovers and will be brimming with confidence, taking into consideration they have been practising together as a team over the past week for this day with the aim of carting off the $500 000 first prize that is up for grabs, compliments of telecommunications giant Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T)..
They will be led by West Indies limited overs player Royston Crandon, whose support crew includes national opener Sewnarine Chattergoon, whose form in this game has improved by leaps and bounds over the past six months.
Crandon’s elder brother Esaun Crandon will be looking to repeat the sterling performance he had against Jamaica in the semi-finals of the inaugural Stanford 20/20 tournament four years ago, when he struck a belligerent 36-ball 72 to steer Guyana into the semis.
There will be no Narsingh Deonarine for the Titans, as the West Indies middle-order batsman has opted to take a break from the gentleman’s game, but they do have the pugnacious and talented former youth all-rounder Jonathan Foo in their lineup.
Also among the lot are Devon Clements, Michael Newland, Homchand Pooran, Krisendat Ramoo and former national youth skipper Anthony Bramble, and with the exception of Bravo and Chanderpaul, all the players on both teams are aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses, hence this match-up should be an exciting one for the fans.
An exhibition encounter is also billed to entertain the fans prior to the final, between Dyna’s Embroidery Media XI and Digicom-sponsored McGill Superstars and this 15 overs encounter will bowl off at 17:00 h and culminate under the lights.
National selectee fast bowler Trevor Benn along with Medha Dhanpaul, Boodram Sugrim, Timur Mohammed, Amit Jairam and Abdul Razack are all in the lineup of the McGill Superstars team.
The Media XI will be led by former youth off-spinner Sean Devers, whose deputy is none other than former Essequibo opener Ravendra Madholall and they will receive valuable support from Roderick Lovell and Jermaine Neblette two former national fast bowlers.
Added support can be expected from opening batsman John Ramsingh, Essequibo’s Brandon Cabose, Marlon Munroe , Chad Ramsaroop, Jermaine Carter, Rene Stoby, Kizan Brumell and Calvin Roberts.
Apart from the action on the field, there will be four tassa drumming groups, two stereo sound systems in the party stand and giveaways for the children – who will be admitted free once they are under 12 years of age – from the various sponsors, as an added entertainment beyond the boundary.
Also the first 1 000 ladies as well as the first 1 000 children will be recipients of gifts and free ice cream, compliments of the various team sponsors and Sterling Products Limited Igloo ice cream.
The four teams with their colours in brackets will be chosen from Universal DVD Club Berbice Titans (Orange) – Royston Crandon (captain), Sewnarine Chattergoon, Richard Ramdeen, Jonathan Foo, Ranga Latchana, Delbert Hicks, Esaun Crandon, Krisendat Ramoo, Devon Clements, Davendra Bishoo, Homchand Pooran, Steven Latcha, Rajiv Ivan, Anthony Bramble, Michael Newland and Yogindra Harrinarine.
New Line Cavaliers (Blue) – Gajanand Singh (captain), Andre Percival (vice-captain), Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Rayad Emrit, Andrew Lyght Jr, Balram Samaroo, Tyrell Tull, Chien Gittens, Avenash Sookdeo, Anthony Ifill, Orin Forde, Paul Wintz, Zaheer Mohamed and Marlon Ismond.
Digicom Moosai Tigers (Yellow) – Mahendra Nagamootoo (captain), William Perkins (vice-captain), Troy Cornelius, Brian Yearwood, Michael Harry,  Shivanand Moosai, Mario Belcon, Keegan Roy, Emile Rajah, Marlon Bharath, David Forbes, Isaiah Rajah, Adrian Geeban, Miguel Nedd, Milton Dookran and Sunil Moosai.
Gizmos & Gadgets Georgetown Pitbulls (Green) – Leon Johnson (captain), Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo, Lennox Cush, Ravi Sarwan, Christopher Barnwell, Trevon Griffith, Travis Dowlin, Troy Gonsalves, Steven Jacobs, Deon Ferrier, Totaram Bishun, Kelon Carmichael, Trevon Garraway, Darwin Christian and Delon Heyliger.