ESSEQUIBO could face stiff competition from Lower Corentyne who trail them by five points as they seek to retain their title come today when the 7th and final round bowls off.

It has been a reasonably competitive tournament this year as a number of new faces have managed to put themselves on the radar, as senior players have also found form this season while players who made their comebacks also managed to wow watchers.

Defending champions Essequibo have 5 wins from six rounds played; most notably their last victory which saw them mow down East Coast for 59 runs after making 283. After winning rounds one to four with relative ease, Essequibo lost their first game to the Lower Corentyne side in the 5th round but bounced back tremendously to win the penultimate round.

In order to retain their title, Essequibo will need to dispose of their opponents today – East Bank. The in-form Jonathan Foo, skipper Veerasammy Permaul, Nial Smith and others will need to come big for Lower Corentyne, who are in second place on the points table with a tally of 20.

Should the Berbice side continue their fiery form the Berbice franchise could sneak-snatch the title if they beat opponents Upper Corentyne – securing bonus points from a possible outright win.

Permaul and his men have managed to secure four wins from the six games played which makes an interesting end to the final round should they win. Also, individual players who have commanded the limelight include; Kevin Sinclair, Kandasammy Surujnarine, Ashmead Nedd, Kemol Savory, Smith, Steven Sankar and Ricardo Adams, Trevon Griffith, Ricardo Adams.