FOLLOWING their exemplary performances in the preliminary rounds of the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA)-organised, David Persaud Investments-sponsored Under-19 tournament, Georgetown Cricket Club, Malteenoes Sports Club and Demerara Cricket Club ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams will do battle in today’s semifinals of that tournament.
At the world-renowned GCC ground in Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, the home team will be looking to turn back the challenge of DCC ‘B’, while at the MSC ground on Thomas Lands the home team will meet DCC ‘A’, with the winners meeting in the final that is set for Sunday September 9 at a venue to be named.
Skipper Kemal Savory, who made his first division against Everest Cricket Club last weekend and celebrated with a maiden half-century, will lead DCC ‘B’ team charge along with Xaviee Smith, Renaldo Renee, Cavell Reece, Travis Persaud, Josiah Mattel and Dequan Murray.
While not much is known of the GCC lineup, they will be relying heavily on Devon Lord, Martin Pestano-Belle, Bernard Bailey, Shamar Graham, Raymond Perez, Fadil Umraow and Cleon Critchlow to take them into the final.
At Thomas Lands, the home team will be looking to Nichosie Barker, who scored a belligerent ton against Ace Warriors in their final preliminary round match, Hakeem Davis, Ray Peters, Shaquille Williams, Kareem Naughton, Jamal Naughton, Vishal Narayan, Steven Sankar and Shaquille Moseley for victory.
However, the DCC ‘A’ team lineup is no pushovers and boasts players of the calibre of Tevin Imloch, Andrew Gibson, Michael Shalim, Omesh Dhanram, Yenkini Favorite, David Mohammed, Orlando Sturge and the Rupee siblings in Khemraj and Sunil, who on their day can be trumps for their team.
The selection of the final 11 for all four teams will certainly be a nightmare for those in charge of doing so, taking into consideration the quality and technical aspect of the batch of players they have to chose from, which makes today’s encounter a must-see for cricket-lovers in the Garden City, when the action bowls off at 09:30hrs at the two venues.