By Anthony Layne

A GUYANA schoolboys’ team will leave today for Barbados to participate in the annual Sir Garfield Sobers International Schools Cricket Tournament from Sunday, July 9 to Sunday,

July 23.
The team comprises players from St Joseph High School, St Stanislaus College, North Georgetown Secondary, and St John’s College and will be led by 17-year-old Kennard Moonsammy with Timothy McCalmont as his vice-captain.

Moonsammy is a right-handed opening batsman who represents the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) in the second-division competition, while his deputy is also a right-handed batsman who bats at number three and has represented Guyana at the Under-15 and Under-17 levels.
Speaking with Chronicle Sport during the team’s final practice session at D’Urban Park, Moonsammy said himself and vice-captain apart, he expects strong performances from Quinton Sampson, an Essequibian and middle-order batsman who has represented Essequibo at the Under-19 level and Nkosi Beaton, an off-spinning all-rounder who plays for the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC).

Moonsammy is also confident that his team can create history by being the first local team to win the prestigious tournament in its 32-year history. Said he, “It’s a very good, tightly knit squad and the players are very excited and eager to be the first Guyana team to win the tournament.” Team coach Terrence Newton is also optimistic of his young charges “bringing home the bacon”.
“We have a very good chance of winning the tournament, since we have been in training since January; team spirit is very high, because we have been encamped for some time. We’ve had some difficulties with sponsorship, which has made the team even more determined to succeed; the hotter the battle, the sweeter the victory.”

While up to the time of writing they were still experiencing sponsorship woes, they are nevertheless appreciative of assistance received from the Ministry of the Presidency; Giftland Mall (the first to come on board); Hand-in-Hand Insurance Company; the board of the St Joseph Parent/Teachers Association; the Troyer and Moonsammy families; the Ministry of Finance; the Guyana Revenue Authority, which has waived all taxes; and Nand Persaud and Company Limited, rice millers and exporters of Corentyne, Berbice.
The full squad is: Kennard Moonsammy (captain), Timothy McCalmont (vice-captain), Nkosi Beaton, Elian Whyte, Amir Singh, Stephan Wilson, Andsuegga Rodrigues, Tuen Hicks, Anthony Hetsberger, Euan Blair, Javed Troyer, Odida Douglas, Dodi O’Selmo, Chad Shivrattan, Stephan Nelson, Jeremiah Scott and Adrian Hackett.

Since 1986, the tournament has given schoolboys the rare opportunity of playing in an international tournament. Matches are of 40 overs duration and are played under rules governing 40 overs cricket.
The tournament attracts schools from most Test-playing cricket countries, but the majority of participating schools come from the UK. The tournament is now sanctioned by the West Indies Cricket Board and recently there has been greater interest from overseas teams, especially from South America and Africa.
During the tournament, a Masters coaching class is usually held by West Indies cricket legends such as Sir Everton Weekes, Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Wesley Hall, Charlie Griffith, Seymour Nurse and Joel Garner.,

To date, the tournament has groomed the likes of former West Indies captain Brian Lara, Daren Ganga, Roland Holder, and several English and South African Test players.
The Guyana team will assemble at St Joseph High at 11:00hrs and travel to the Eugene F. Correia International Airport for departure at 14:10hrs.
Chronicle Sport takes this opportunity to wish the glory-seeking youngsters a happy and successful tournament.