THE local governing body for cricket here, the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), has just concluded the Dave West Indian Imports Inter-county Under-15 cricket tournament, and, based on some personal performances, there is definitely a promising future for Guyana’s cricket.

According to chairman of the GCB’s junior selectors, Nazimul Drepaul, there’s no shortage of cricketing talent within Guyana’s junior ranks, adding that Guyana’s cricket looks good for the future.

Drepaul made the comment yesterday in an exclusive interview following the conclusion of the tournament on Saturday when Demerara dethroned Berbice to lift this year’s title.
“Talent’s not our problem in Guyana. We’ve got plenty of talented young cricketers as you can see during the Under-15 tournament,” Drepaul said.

He added, “While there were a number of players we see that have raw talent, I feel that Rampertab Ramnauth, Matthew Pottaya, Jadon Campbell, Zachary Jodah, and Krisna Singh, just to name a few of the Under-15s, are extremely talented cricketers”.
Ramnauth, the Berbice opening batsman, copped the award for the most runs in the tournament, having scored 215 runs with scores of 37, 147*, 10 and 21.
The impressive off-spinner, Pottaya, took 12 wickets in the tournament, the most by any bowler.

Meanwhile, a 20-man squad is expected to be released shortly for the upcoming Inter-county Under-17 tournament.
“What the GCB has done over the years is to include the national Under-15 squad into the Inter-county Under-17 tournament in order for continuous preparation. This has definitely helped us in terms of domination at the regional level,” Drepaul pointed out.

Following the Under-17 tournament, a 14-member squad will be selected to represent Guyana at the regional tournament, which will be played in Antigua later this year.
Drepaul is optimistic of Guyana’s chances, saying while there’s plenty of talk about a ‘war on talent’, preparation is the key.