BASKING in a successful hosting during the Stanford Super Series held three years ago, the Queenstown-based Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) ‘Home of the Legends’ is creating another party atmosphere during the remaining matches of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Caribbean T20 tournament.
President of the club, Alfred Mentore, yesterday outlined his reasons for broadcasting the CT20 matches via a cable network. “We at DCC ‘Home of the Legends’ wanted to get involved in a tangible way when it comes to the tournament having had a successful hosting during the Stanford Super Series, in which our very own Travis Dowlin was a member of the victorious Stanford Superstars squad.
“When you look around, some persons are not privileged to view the matches, including cricketers, cricket administrators and even cricket enthusiasts, so we decided to bring the games via cable to those set of people, creating a party atmosphere for them as well,” stated Mentore.
According to Mentore, who was once the head of the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA), sponsors from corporate Guyana have been approached, including Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T), Banks DIH and Hits and Jams, on this venture and from all indications they are willing to come on board.
“Certainly, we will turn our club into a party atmosphere for this venture, with a well-stocked bar and refreshments on sale. Hits and Jams will provide the musical entertainment during the break between innings.
“Things will heat up for the semifinals and finals, which Guyana are expected to be a part of, since we will have a large flat screen enabling our patrons who will grace the venue with their presence, a clear view of the game,” said Mentore.
He continued, “Approaches will be made to other community-based businesses, for their support on this venture as we aim to make it a ‘Queenstown Thing’, while cricket fans rally around their team, especially the defending champions who are not doing so well now.
“Nevertheless, we need to rally behind them and we at DCC strongly feel that this type of support would go a long way towards seeing our boys come out on top of the Caribbean once again in a T20 tournament.”
The venture began yesterday afternoon, where fans got the opportunity to witness the Windward Islands/Somerset clash as well as the Guyana/Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) encounter which bowled off at 20:00 h last night.
The fixtures for the remaining matches including the final four which will be played in Barbados is listed below:
Saturday January 15 – Leeward Islands v Hampshire Royals (16:00 h)
Canada v Trinidad & Tobago (20:00 h)
BARBADOS – Kensington Oval Tuesday January 18 – Jamaica v Somerset (16:00 h)
Windward Islands v Guyana (20:00 h)
Wednesday January 19 – Trinidad & Tobago v Hampshire Royals (16:00 h)
Canada v Barbados (20:00 h)
Thursday January 20 – Combined Campuses & Colleges v Somerset (16:00 h)
Windward Islands v Jamaica (20:00 h)
Friday January 21 – Canada v Leeward Islands (16:00 h)
Trinidad & Tobago v Barbados (20:00 h)
Saturday January 22
Semi Final 1: Group A Winner v Group B 2nd (16:00 h)
Semi Final 2: Group B Winner v Group A 2nd (20:00 h)
Sunday January 23
3rd place playoff: Semi Final 1 loser v Semi Final 2 loser (16:00 h)
FINAL: Semi Final 1 Winner v Semi Final 2 Winner (20:00 h)