Pulsating action anticipated in today’s final

JOINT defending champions in hosts Berbice and their nemesis Demerara will clash in the final of this year’s Guyana Cricket Board senior Inter-county 50 overs tournament today to bring the curtain down on that aspect of the competition, at the Albion Community Centre ground.Both teams are packed with players who have national experience at various levels, with Demerara boasting of having 10 first class players in their ranks, while Berbice have seven and if you use the national Under-19 grid, then today’s fixture will be an all-national affair, as all of the players have represented Guyana at the youth level.
Spin will be the key factor on a track that is conducive for such bowling in the second half today, with several of the Berbice players being familiar with same, in the likes of skipper Narsingh Deonarine, Veerasammy Permaul, Gudakesh Motie-Kanhai, Krishendat Ramoo and Devon Clements.
The venue is the home ground for Deonarine, Permaul and Motie-Kanhai, but on the other hand, the Christopher Barnwell-led Demerara bowling attack is a spin-based one, with players of the calibre of Yatesh Dhanpaul, Raj Nannan who has been turning heads in this tournament, Amir Khan, Steven Jacobs, Zaheer Mohammed and Chandrapaul Hemraj.
Earlier in the tournament, Demerara coach Garvin Nedd said he was wary of the team from the Ancient County, since they are known to rebound from preliminary round losses and come back strong in finals, something most of his players would be au fait with as well.
For this reaxon, Nedd and his assistant Clive Grimmond held two days of intense training sessions in sweltering heat at the Demerara Cricket Club, with the aim of stamping out any complacency among their troops ahead of today’s fixture.
One thing is certain; the batsmen for the team batting first, will have to post a total that is good enough for their bowlers to defend, since both sides have batsmen who on their day can be destructive elements to any local bowling attack.
For Demerara, who played unbeaten throughout the preliminary round, including their 144-run win over Berbice at Wales – another spinners paradise – they have a plethora of openers to choose from in Trevon Griffith, Robin Bacchus, Rajendra Chandrika, Shemroy Barrington and Andrew Lyght Jr.
Whichever way they go, they will be looking for a bright start so that the middle order which comprises Barnwell, Jacobs and Hemraj, can build and allow the power hitters in the lower order such as Dhanpaul, Khan, Nannan, vice-captain Paul Wintz and Seon Daniels to free their arms in the latter stages of the innings.
Barnwell, Daniels and Wintz will share the new ball and take the sheen off same, so that Jacobs, Nannan, Mohammed, Khan and Dhanpaul can work their magic.
Strangely, the home team used Seon Hetmyer as an opener in their first game to partner Kandasammy Surujnarine, sidelining the experienced Rajiv Ivan, but with much at stake including the title of Inter-county limited overs champions, coach Hubern Evans will put his best 11 on the field.
This means that Clements and Surujnarine will be expected to lead their batting, or if possible wicketkeeper/batsman Anthony Bramble will partner Surujnarine, with Deonarine, Clements, Ivan and the hard-hitting Jonathan Foo making up the middle order.
Motie-Kanhai and Permaul are no rabbits with the bat, while Romario Shepherd-DeJonge, Keon Joseph and Raun Johnson are all capable batsmen, with Shepherd-DeJonge being the best of the trio in this regard.
In Joseph and Johnson, Berbice have the best new-ball pair in the country while Shepherd-DeJonge can lend valuable support in this department as well, making way for Permaul, Deonarine, Motie-Kanhai, Ramoo and Clements to spin webs around the Demerara batsmen.
The victorious side will pocket $100 000 and the runners-up half of that, while individual prizes such as Man-of-the-Match, Best Bowler, Batsman, Wicketkeeper and Most Valuable Player (MVP) will be up for grabs and distributed at the end of the contest.
Teams for today’s final which bowls off from 09:00hrs read: Demerara: Christopher Barnwell (captain), Paul Wintz, Trevon Griffith, Robin Bacchus, Andrew Lyght Jr, Shemroy Barrington, Rajendra Chandrika, Raj Nannan, Zaheer Mohamed, Amir Khan, Yatesh Dhanpaul, Steven Jacobs, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Seon Daniels. Garvin Nedd (coach), Clive Grimond (manager/assistant coach).
Berbice: Narsingh Deonarine (captain), Veerasammy Permaul, Kandasammy Surujnarine, Seon Hetmyer, Devon Clements, Jonathan Foo, Rajiv Ivan, Anthony Bramble, Jason Sinclair, Romario Shepherd, Gudakesh Motie, Krishendat Ramoo, Keon Joseph, Raun Johnson. Albert Smith, (manager), Hubern Evans (coach).