– Ramnaresh Sarwan  unavailable
DUE to the unavailability of Guyana and West Indies middle-order batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan, former West Indies Under-19 skipper Leon Johnson has been tasked with leading Demerara in the day/night final of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB)/El Dorado Inter-county limited overs tournament against Berbice today at the Providence Stadium. Not only will Demerara be without the services of their inspirational skipper in Sarwan, but they have also lost opener Rajendra Chandrika who has returned to the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) High Performance Centre in Cave Hill, Barbados for the encounter which bowls off at 13:30h.
Discarded national opening batsman Shemroy Barrington and  Demerara Cricket Club opener Jamal Hinckson have been drafted in to replace Sarwan and Chandrika, as Demerara seek to wrest the title out of the grasp of the Assad Fudadin led Berbice unit.
Even though Johnson will not be having the services of Sarwan and Chandrika, he can call on West Indies opener Travis Dowlin who belted a half century against the same opponents in the preliminary round and dependable middle order batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
Hinckson and Barrington along with national all rounder Christopher Barnwell, Vishal Singh, Steven Jacobs and to a lesser extent Zaheer Mohammed, Andre Stoll and Derwin Christian are all useful customers with the bat, which makes Johnson’s batting lineup for such a formidable foe, a difficult one to select.
Their bowling will be led by Stoll who was selected for his left arm variety, Carmichael and Barnwell who will all take care of the new ball, while Mohammed, Jacobs and national Under-19 leg spinner Amir Khan will lend support with their spin.
What Johnson should be aware of by now, is the sturdiness of the Berbicians who are determined to retain their title under Fudadin’s leadership once again.
To that effect, the senior selection panel has included eight of the nine Berbicians that were a part of the Guyana team which contested the Airtel Champions League T20 tournament without success last month.
Temperamental opener Richard Ramdeen whose 61 ball ton against Essequibo in the first match is the lone century to date, will start things with West Indies opener Sewnarine Chattergoon, while Fudadin, Royston Crandon, Jonathan Foo and Narsingh Deonarine will offer support in the middle order.
Whether it is Delbert Hicks or former national youth captain Anthony Bramble being tasked to take care of the wicket keeping duties would not be a problem for Fudadin, as they are both capable lower order batsmen.
Esaun Crandon, Krisendat Ramoo, Michael Newland and Keon Joseph have all been selected for their bowling contributions to the team, but if needed, they are all capable lower order batsmen as well, confirming the Berbice Cricket Board’s decision to dominate cricket at all levels in 2010.
Certainly, one would wait to see if Fudadin will repeat the mistake he made when Berbice played both Essequibo and Demerara, by asking Royston Crandon to bowl his off spin ahead of Deonarine, especially with the absence of national left arm orthodox spinner Veerasammy Permaul who like Chandrika, has left for the HPC in Barbados.
Whichever way it ends when the last ball is bowled tonight or following a miserable batting display from the team batting first, this afternoon, an exciting game can be anticipated by those who intend to throng one of the Caribbean’s fastest drying venues to witness the fixture.
Demerara team: Leon Johnson (Captain), Christopher Barnwell, Shemroy Barrington, Vishal Singh, Steven Jacobs, Derwin Christian, Zaheer Mohamed, Amir Khan, Travis Dowlin, Totaram Bishun, Kellon Carmichael, Andre Stoll, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Jamal Hinckson.
Coach:  Orin Bailey, Manager: Robert Adonis
Berbice team: Assad Fudadin, Royston Crandon, Richard Ramdeen, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Jonathan Foo, Narsingh Deonarine, Krisendat Ramoo, Anthony Bramble, Esaun Crandon, Keon Joseph, Michael Newland, Devendra Bishoo, Delbert Hicks and Eugene La Fleur. Coach Adrian Amsterdam, Manager David Black
Umpires for the match are, Clyde Duncan and Nigel Duguid  with Matthew Kissoon as stand-by.