COACH of the Berbice Under-15 cricket team, Leslie Solomon, is optimistic that the team’s all-round ability and preparation augur well for a successful defence of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB)-sponsored Dave West Indian Imports Inter-county Under-15 tournament which bowls off tomorrow.

Certainly it will not be an easy task, but Solomon is optimistic that the title will remain with the team.

“We, as a team, are confident heading into the tournament,” Solomon stated during in an exclusive interview yesterday.

Berbice dished out a clinical performance, beating Demerara by 36 runs in the final last year, but according to Solomon, “We have a new squad of players … we have only three players from last year, but having said that, we had our inter-zone competition, we had a couple of training sessions and at least our confidence is high. But it will definitely take a combined team effort to retain the title,” Solomon contended.

The four participating teams will go head-to-head at two venues. The tournament will require each team to play three matches and the top two teams will advance to the final. Scores are six points for a win, two for a washed-out or abandoned game and 0.1 point for each fast-bowling wicket.

For tomorrow’s first round at GCC ground, Demerara U-15 will come up against Berbice while Essequibo will battle GCB President’s XI at Everest.
On Tuesday, action will resume at Everest Cricket Club (ECC) ground with Demerara and GCB President’s X1 going head-to-head while Essequibo face Berbice at Lusignan ground.
In the final round Demerara and Essequibo will square off at Everest. Essequibo and Berbice will clash at Lusignan.

The final will then be played on Saturday at GCC, Bourda.