… Rems, Enmore aiming for consecutive titles

By Frederick Halley

TORONTO, Canada – After carting off last weekend’s Caribbean Sensation/Nirad Lall-sponsored 10/10 Division One championship, Rems will be aiming to make it two straight titles when they clash with Mercenary in the Paul & Sons-sponsored 15-over final tomorrow at the Ashtonbee number two ground.

Meanwhile, the Division Two final features Enmore and Carr Tec at the Ashtonbee number one ground in what is a repeat of last Saturday’s 10/10 final, with the latter not only endeavouring to turn the tables on their opponents but also reversing last year’s finish when they had to settle for the runners-up spot to Good Success.

Incidentally, both of last year’s winners – Sunshine in Division One and Good Success in Division Two – are out of contention for varying reasons, Sunshine opting to pull out of the league and Good Success losing to Carr Tec in the semi-final.

On the Division One consolation final Rebels will trye to take home another winners trophy when they battle with last week’s losing championship finalists GT Bannas, on Ashtonbee Reservoir number one while Bacchus Ruff Ryders and Ramblers square off at Ashtonbee Reservoir number two.

While Rems made light work of GT Bannas in the 10/10 final, the showdown with Mercenary is expected to be far fiercer and a keener contest is definitely on the cards.
It will be recalled that Rems were responsible for Mercenary’s exit from the 10/10 tournament at the semi-final stage and also stopped them in their tracks in the regular season (20 overs) tournament, giving them somewhat of an added momentum entering tomorrow’s final.

Rems will also be hoping that their top-order which includes the likes of Chien Gittens, Richard Dias, Krishna Deosaran and Ian ‘Russian’ Baldeo, hit form since apart from Surujpaul Deosaran, who hit a top score of 29 last weekend, the rest of the batting failed to get going.
Their bowlers, led by Yoodhanlall Sukhlall, were simply superb against GT Bannas and will be looking to replicate those performances.
Regular season leaders Mercenary had high hopes of making a clean sweep of the Division One titles but their expectations have already been shattered. Apart from wanting to “settle the score” with their opponents, bragging rights are also up for grabs in this highly anticipated contest.

Skipper Looknauth Ramsuchit is extremely confident that Mercenary will come out on top. Apart from the captain’s contribution, the batting hinges around Shauan Deonandand, Munniram Karran, Yadram Bogh and all-rounders Aftab Shamsudeen and Avinash Sookdeo. Support will also come from bowlers Rabindra Diaram and Bolanauth Sukhu.

The Division Two final, featuring Enmore and Carr Tec, is expected to be brimful of interest. Undoubtedly, Carr Tec were the favourites to win last week’s 10-over contest after playing unbeaten in both the regular and knockout tournaments. However, they were brought down to earth by a spectacular performance from Enmore who outduel them in all facets of the game.

Led by fine innings from man-of-the-match Abdool Azeez and former Guyana youth player Steve Ramdass, Enmore were by far the better team on the day and fully deserved their triumph.

Carr Tec will once again be pinning their hopes on former Guyana youth batsman Ravendra Mandolall, who was a ‘no-show” as far as getting among the runs last week. A surprising element in Carr Tec’s play last week was the experienced Terry Mathura who bowled only one over, in which he conceded nine runs and claimed two wickets.
Following the conclusion of the 15-over final, the battle will resume for regular-season (20 overs) supremacy.