THE ELEVENTH edition of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club’s Busta ‘Champion of Champions’ 50 overs first division tournament would bowl off this Sunday from 09:30hrs, at four venues across the Ancient County of Berbice.

The tournament, which has developed into one of Guyana’s premier cricket tourneys, would be contested by the top eight first division teams in Berbice, namely West Berbice, Blairmont, Bermine, Young Warriors, Upper Corentyne, Albion, Port Mourant and defending champions RHT Gizmos and Gadgets.
Secretary/CEO of the organising Club, Hilbert Foster, said in a press release that bad weather in the latter part of last year, along with the club’s massive Christmas Charity programme, prevented the proposed early December start of the tournament but expressed confidence that all plans are in place for another highly successful tournament.
This tournament has a special meaning for the RHTYSC as it has been organised as part of the club’s Silver Jubilee anniversary celebration which they are observing this year.
In Sunday’s fixtures, RHT Gizmos and Gadgets would host Upper Corentyne at the Area ‘H’ ground, with the host team, presently undergoing a rebuilding process, being led by Shawn Pereira, Delbert Hicks, Jason Sinclair, Clinton Pestano, Eon Hooper, Troy Mathieson, Keon Sinclair and Shemaine Campbelle.
Upper Corentyne would depend heavily on players like Lekeram Latchman, Omesh Kumar, Pareshwar Chatterpaul and Imran Mohamed to spring a surprise on the home team, who have also lost several key players to migration to the United States of America and other parts of the world.
At the Cumberland ground, Canje Young Warriors would face off with Bermine in what is expected to be a closely contested affair, as players of the calibre of Kevin Ramdeen, Linden Austin, Ishwar Singh, Seon Hetmyer and Suresh Dhanai will lead Young Warriors.
For Bermine, Romario Shepherd, brothers Eugene and Joemal La Fleur, Anthony D’Andrade and Keon De Jesus are expected to turn out and steer their side into the semifinals.
The key clash of the round would occur at the Port Mourant ground, where arch rivals, Albion and Port Mourant would clash in what should be an enthralling affair.
Albion, who would be without most of their senior players due to national commitment, can still depend heavily on Kandasammy Surujnarine, Shiraz Ramcharran, Adrian Sukhwah, Balchand Baldeo and left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie-Kanhai, who has been in tremendous form with the ball lately.
The home team, who would be brimming with confidence following their win over the same opponents in their annual Balram Shane Memorial matchup, will rely on Devindra Thakurdeen, Lloydel Lewis, Nicholas Cameron, Arif Chan, Joshua Ramsammy, Troy Lewis and Troy McKenzie to steer them past Albion.
Over at the Blairmont ground, it would be a West Berbice affair as the home team clash with the West Berbice Cricket Association.
Nick Ramsaroop, Parmanand Ramdhan, Kevlon Jawahir, Waqar Hassan and Avishkar Sewkarran would be the main players for Blairmont while West Berbice would be led by national fast bowlers Keon Joseph and Raun Johnson, with Krisendat Ramoo and Rafael Estriado playing their part as well.
The winners of the tournament would receive $100 000 and a trophy while the runners-up would take home $50 000 and a trophy when the final is contested. The match is expected to be broadcast live on National Communications Network (NCN) radio on a date and at a venue to be announced.