FORMER national Under-19 skipper Eugene La Fleur has been appointed captain of the historic Berbice ‘A’ team that will be launched on Friday, September 24 with a 50-overs-a-side match against a Demerara Under-23 team at the Everest Cricket Club ground.
Earlier this year, the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) announced plans for the formation of a Berbice ‘A’ Team as part of the massive development of cricketing talent in the Ancient County.
Chairman of the BCB’s Special Events Committee Hilbert Foster, who spearheaded the ‘A’ Team project, disclosed that with the huge pool of cricketing talent in Berbice, many deserving players are unable to gain selection on the county’s senior team.
The ‘A’ Team will be seen as a nursery for Berbice senior team and also assist the players to get accustomed to playing cricket at a higher level.
Foster stated that good performance at the ‘A’ level could result in a player being selected for the Berbice senior Inter-county team and the BCB has mandated that the ‘A’ Team should consist of only Under-23 players with at least five of them being Under-19 players who are available to play that level next year.
The BCB will also be introducing a cap system for the ‘A’ Team as it has done at all levels for the county and Mr Joseph Lewis, an East Bank Demerara-based Berbician, has donated 18 ‘A’ Team Inter-county caps for this purpose.
La Fleur’s deputy is former national Under-19 off-spinner Steven Latcha, while Winston Smith will serve as manager/coach of the 14-man squad.
The full 14-man squad named for the match reads: Eugene La Fleur, Steven Latcha, Harrinarine Chattergoon, Renga Lachigadoo Latchman, Seon Hetmyer, Anthony Bramble, Troy Mathieson, Krisendat Ramoo, Keon Joseph, Keyron Fraser, Dominic Rikhi, Lloydel Lewis and Shawn Pereira.
Demerara will also visit Berbice the following week for another match.