,,, face Demerara in opening game tonight
THE Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) spared no efforts to make sure that its Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) Cellink-sponsored senior Inter-county T20 Team is fully prepared to successfully defend their title this year, when they obtained the services of Sports Conditioning Specialist Kezqweyah Yisreal to get their players in top physical condition. The Guyana Cricket Board Carib Beer/Pepsi tournament commences this afternoon at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, with the Rest Team facing Essequibo from 15:00 h, while Cellink Berbice will take on their nemesis Demerara from 19:00 h.
The defending champions, under the guidance of captain Assad Fudadin, coach Adrian Amsterdam and manager David Black, have been training since Tuesday at the Albion Community Centre ground as they intend to leave no stone unturned in their bid to retain their title.
Contrary to what was reported in another section of the media that national middle order batsman Narsingh Deonarine would not be available to play for the county for the tournament, since he committed himself to play in a tournament in the USA, Deonarine has indicated his intentions to play for Cellink Berbice and not to play in the U.S.A Tournament.
This means that Cellink Berbice will be hard to defeat, but this is T20 cricket and on the day in question, the team to play the better cricket will come out on top.
Cellink Berbice will be looking to Deonarine, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Assad Fudadin, Richard Ramdeen, Royston and Esaun Crandon, Jonathan Foo and Devon Clements to post a decent total for their bowlers to bowl at.
Guyana and West Indies ‘A’ spin twins in Veerasammy Permaul and Devendra Bishoo, along with national fast bowlers Brandon Bess, Keon Joseph and Esaun Crandon, will spearhead the defending champions’ bowling line-up.
Even though they have included both Ramnaresh Sarwan and Lennox Cush in their squad, Demerara will go into the game without the services of these two key players, who will be participating in the same tournament Deonarine pulled out of.
However, they will have the services of Travis Dowlin, Christopher Barnwell, Steven Jacobs, Leon Johnson, Derwin Christian, Jamal Hinckson, Wasim Haslim and debutant Shawn De Souza to call on in the batting department.
Barnwell, Jacobs, Trevon Garraway, Zaheer Mohammed, Andre Stoll, Totaram Bishun and Amir Khan will take charge of their team’s bowling in this competition.
Considered the perennial whipping boys of local cricket, Essequibo have been known to show a better fight in the shorter version of the game, but getting past the Rest Team that is made up of players from both Cellink Berbice and Demerara who found it difficult to make their Inter-county team would be a Herculean task for the Cinderella County team.
National selectee Trevor Benn who did not compete in the still-to-be-completed GCB’s four-team four-day tournament due to a lack of fitness, is back to spearhead Essequibo’s bowling attack with support from Ronsford Beaton, Rayon Thomas, brothers Jason and Dillon Heyliger and the veteran Robert Moore.
Their batting will hinge around the Fredericks siblings – skipper Royan and Norman Fredericks – Dillon and Jason Heyliger, the burly Oyano Sampson, Balchand Shivamber, Kenzo Baksh and to an extent, Ricardo and Anthony Adams.
But while the Rest Team’s bowling may be their weakest point, their batting line-up is filled with batsmen who on their day can chase down any total set by their opponents.
The pugnacious pair of Andrew Lyght Jr and Trevon Griffith, with support from skipper Gajanand Singh, Dion Ferrier, Vishal Singh, Ranga Latchana, Shemroy Barrington, Maxie De Jonge and Eugene La Fleur, can certainly create a headache for Essequibo’s coach Forbes Sampson.
Their bowling will rest on the shoulders of Kellon Carmichael and Renwick Batson, two players who can also throw in their support with the bat. Keyron Fraser, Steven Latcha, Ferrier and La Fleur can add more pressure to Sampson’s game plan.
Daverteeth Anandjit and Matthew Kissoon will officiate in the Essequibo/Rest Team matchup, with N. Shivsankar being the third official, while Dhieranidranauth Somwaru and Shivsankar will officiate in the Demerara/Cellink Berbice contest, with Kissoon being the third official.
Patrons for today’s encounter will witness the match free of charge. The teams will be chosen from:
Cellink Berbice: Assad Fudadin, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Richard Ramdeen, Narsingh Deonarine, Keith Fraser, Royston Crandon, Jonathan Foo, Delbert Hicks, Devendra Bishoo, Esuan Crandon, Michael Newland, Veerasammy Permaul, Krisendat Ramoo, Keon Joseph and Devon Clements.
Demerara: Travis Dowlin, Christopher Barnwell, Steven Jacobs, Wasim Haslim, Derwin Christian, Andre Stoll, Trevon Garraway, Zaheer Mohamed, Totaram Bishun, Shawn De Souza, Jamal Hinckson, Amir Khan, Lennox Cush, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Leon Johnson.
Rest Team: Gajanand Singh, Dion Ferrier, Vishal Singh, Andrew Lyght Jnr, Trevon Griffith, Renwick Batson, Anthony Bramble, Ranga Latchana, Eugene La Fleur, Shemroy Barrington, Maxie De Jonge, Kellon Carmichael, Keyron Fraser and Steven Latcha.
Essequibo: Royan Fredericks, Norman Fredericks, Dillon Heyliger, Jason Heyliger, Ronsford Beaton, Anthony Adams, Ricardo Adams, Trevor Benn, Balchand Shivamber, Oyano Sampson, Robert Moore, Kenzo Baksh, Mark Braithwaite and Rayon Thomas.