Fireworks expected at National Stadium tonight
CRICKET fans and enthusiasts who are expected to fill the Guyana National Stadium to its capacity this afternoon, can expect fireworks when the inaugural Hits and Jams Entertainment-organised Jam Zone Master’s Cup T20 competition bowls off with the two semifinals. In the first match which gets under way from 17:00hrs , the Gajanand Singh-led New Line Cavaliers will take on the Ramnaresh Sarwan-led Georgetown Pitbulls while the second match will see the mighty Hits and Jams Super Stars, spearheaded by Tyrell Tull oppose the Royston Crandon-headed Universal DVD Club Berbice Titans.
Two years ago, New Line Cavaliers were the top T20 team  in Guyana until the advent of the Titans who proved themselves by defeating the Canal Number One-based Cavaliers in the second DJ Stress Festival at the same venue last year.
Singh’s Cavaliers have wasted no time in utilising the four overseas players available to them, by contracting the services of Trinidad and Tobago’s Lendl Simmons along with Barbados’ Fidel Edwards, Dale Richards and Dwayne Smith.
Add Singh, who displayed his T20 ability when he represented Demerara Cricket Club in their warm-up encounter against the Titans, Andre Percival, the hard-hitting Andrew Lyght Jr and Cohen Ismond, Avinash Sookdeo and all-rounders Chien Gittens and Paul Wintz to the fray and the Pitbulls’ work is definitely cut out for them.
Wintz, Edwards, Smith, Gittens, Balram Samaroo and former Guyana and West Indies leg-spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo will take care of the bowling department for the New Line Cavaliers.
However, one should not write off the City lineup, who will be led by West Indies middle-order batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan, with West Indies T20 sensation Christopher Barnwell as his deputy.
Barnwell displayed his leadership skills, when he guided the Pitbulls to a nail-biting victory over the Super Stars in their warm-up game on Wednesday afternoon, in the absence of Sarwan, at the DCC ground.
Barnwell’s exploits with the bat on the local scene need no description, while Trevon Griffith is known to be a thorn in the flesh of the opposition’s bowling on his day, and along with Shemroy Barrington, Jamal Hinckson and Steven Jacobs, the Pitbulls lineup is surely a powerful one.
But like the Cavaliers, they have also exercised their right to have foreign players in their lineup, hence Guyanese will get another chance to witness the batting exploits of Trinidad and Tobago’s Kieron Pollard alongside Sarwan, who was once labelled the World’s Best Finisher in limited overs cricket.
Barbados’ Sulieman Benn is known to be a mean bowler in this form of the gentleman’s game and he will no doubt lead the Pitbulls’ bowling attack, with valuable support from the Jamaican pair of Jerome Taylor and Krishmar Santokie.
Pollard, Barnwell, Jacobs, Griffith, Andre Stoll and Totaram Bishun are useful customers with the white ball in their hand, hence this matchup will definitely serve as the perfect appetiser for the main feature which follows.
Gayle’s batting ability is beyond question. The hard-hitting West Indies opener represented the Cavaliers in the DJ Stress Festival last year. They lost out to the Titans while he was dismissed cheaply by Berbice’s very own Krisendat Ramoo.
Word out of the Cavaliers camp after that game, was the left-handed opener was not pleased with his performance, since it was below his own and his supporters’ expectation, as they anticipated boundaries upon boundaries flowing from the Jamaican’s bat.
Added to that, it was reported that he has been following the lead-up to the tournament from the comfort of his home in Jamaica and with the Titans publicly saying they are not afraid of him, a battle will ensue between his Ishan-branded bat and the ball.
Apart from Gayle, the Super Stars lineup also includes Dwayne Bravo and the Jamaican pair of Danza Hyatt and Andre Russell (the foreign players), alongside Leon Johnson, Robin Bacchus, Troy Gonsalves, Krishna Deosarran and Quincy Ovid-Richardson.
There is not much to talk about, when it comes to the Super Stars bowling lineup, since many are asking the question: Who will bowl after Russell, Bravo and to an extent, Gayle and Johnson finish their four overs spells?
No doubt, even though they are the local T20 champions, the Titans will be entering this two-day tournament which has a whopping $2M first prize up for grabs, as the underdogs – a sentiment expressed by their coach Adrian Amsterdam.
But what Amsterdam has in his favour that many of the other teams may not possess is teamwork and togetherness, since they have been training as a team even before the tournament was launched, through the Berbice Cricket Board’s Senior Elite Programme.
Even without the services of any foreign player (they opted not to use any), Sewnarine Chattergoon and Narsingh Deonarine can still rely on skipper Royston Crandon, Richard Ramdeen, Devon Clements, Anthony Bramble, Eugene La Fleur and Rajiv Ivan.
Who can forget the feats of 20-year-old Jonathan Foo in last year’s West Indies Cricket Board Caribbean T20 competition, when he singlehandedly guided Guyana to the championships and a place in the Airtel Champions League.
There is also Esaun Crandon’s batting exploits in the 2006 Stanford T20 tournament quarterfinal engagements against Jamaica, where he blasted 76 off 30-odd deliveries and a repeat of both batsmen’s performances tonight will certainly see the Super Stars out of the race for the top prize.
The Titans bowling rests on the shoulder of Ramoo, West Indies leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo, Veerasammy Permaul and the Crandons in skipper Royston and his elder brother Esaun, while Assad Fudadin can also chip in with both bat and ball for the Ancient County lineup.
The gates will be open from 15:00hrs today, while the first ball is expected to be bowled at 16:00hrs in the first game and 20:00hrs in the feature encounter.
The teams will be chosen from;
Hits and Jams All Stars – Tyrell Tull (captain), Leon Johnson (v-capt), Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell, Danza Hyatt, Robin Bacchus, Troy Gonsalves, Seon Daniels, Raj Nanan, Krishna Deosarran, Quincy Ovid-Richardson, Jeetendra Sookdeo and Dayanand Roopnarine.
GT Pitbulls from: Ramnaresh Sarwan (capt), Christopher Barnwell (v-capt) Kellon Carmichael, Trevon Griffith, Steven Jacobs, Shemroy Barrington, Derwin Christian, Andre Stoll, Totaram Bishun, Jamal Hinckson, Kieron Pollard, Suleiman Benn, Jerome Taylor, Krishmar Santokie. Mark Harper (coach), Shawn Massiah (manager).