WITH the aim to successfully defend their Jamzone Masters Cup title that they surprisingly won last year, the Universal DVD Club-sponsored Berbice Titans have selected a strong 14-man squad which will commence training as soon as possible for this year’s tournament. According to reports reaching Chronicle Sport, two new faces in Khemraj Mahadeo and Eon Hooper have been included in the squad, and while no captain has been named, West Indies ‘A’ team skipper Veerasammy Permaul who is listed in the 14-man lineup, may get the nod to lead the side.
Also included in the squad that will go up against Hotel Tower New Line Cavaliers, Hits and Jams Superstars and Gizmos and Gadgets Georgetown Pitbulls in this year’s tournament are West Indies middle-order batsmen Assad Fudadin and Narsingh Deonarine, along with discarded leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo.
This year’s tournament, which will once again see the likes of talismanic West Indies opener Christopher Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Dwayne Smith, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Suliiman Benn turn out for respective teams, will be contested on Friday 17th with two semifinal encounters at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.
The final and third-place playoff will take place on Sunday, August 19 at the same venue, with the winning team being guaranteed the first prize of US10 000 (G$2M) and the championship trophy.
Former national opening batsmen Sewnarine Chattergoon and Richard Ramdeen, national t20 selectee Rajiv Ivan, former national Under-19 skipper Eugene La Fleur, Delbert Hicks, Devon Clements, Michael Newland and the hard-hitting Jonathan Foo complete the squad.
However, national off-spinning all-rounder Royston Crandon, who is completing a contractual stint in Canada, along with fast bowlers Brandon Bess and Keon Joseph, were not considered for selection, since they would be unavailable for the tournament.
The list reads: Sewnarine Chattergoon, Richard Ramdeen, Assad Fudadin, Rajiv Ivan, Jonathan Foo, Delbert Hicks, Narsingh Deonarine, Veerasammy Permaul, Devendra Bishoo, Eugene La Fleur, Eon Hooper, Khemraj Mahadeo, Devon Clements and Michael Newland.
Four standby players are Renwick Batson, Keon De Jesus, Mark Lionel and Clinton Pestano. The management team and coach, like the captaincy, have not been named for the Titans, who stopped the Georgetown Pitbulls in last year’s final, after disposing of the H&J Superstars in the semifinals.