AFTER two rounds of exciting matches which saw the National Under-17 defeat Essequibo in the first before the Essequibians humiliated Berbice in their second-round matchup, the final round of matches in the Guyana Cricket Board/Raj Singh Insurance Under-19 Inter-county limited overs competition bowls off today.At the Enmore Community Centre ground, defending champions Demerara who have already qualified for this Saturday’s final following their two victories, will oppose Essequibo while at Everest, Berbice, who lost both of their matches, will look to grasp the opportunity to qualify via net run rate, when they take on the Under-17.

The tournament’s lone centurion to date, Demerara’s Tevin Imloch, along with his skipper Travis Persaud and budding all-rounder Shurfane Rutherford who struck 10 sixes and two fours in his 19-ball unbeaten 70, will lead their team’s batting.
West Indies Under-19 player Kemo Paul, Keanu Harry, Akini Adams, Neyland Cadogan, the hard-hitting Nathan Persaud and Looknauth Chinkoo will be looking to hand the Essequibians another upset win, which will give them a place in the final.
Guyana’s first class batsman and West Indies Under-19 opener Shimron Hetmyer, who like Paul returned in time for the second round of matches in the three-day format, will lead the Berbicians, receiving valuable support from Balchand Baldeo, Kassim Khan, Daniel Lewis, Ritesh Omroa and Grisean Grant.
The National Under-17s, who performed badly in the three-day format by losing two of their matches, have rebounded in the limited overs and they will be looking to repeat their first-round heroics, by inflicting another shocking defeat on the Berbicians, which will guarantee them a place in the final, even if Essequibo defeat Demerara.
This is so, since their first-round head-to-head clash with Essequibo resulted in an 11-run victory for the Ronaldo Ali-Mohammed led Under-17 team, who also have within their ranks, Bhaskar Yadram, Raymond Perez, Adrian Sukhwah, Richie Looknauth, Ashmead Nedd and Gavin Boodwah.

By Calvin Roberts