…Systems in place for mega softball extravaganza

By Frederick Halley
WITH just three days remaining before the start of the sixth edition of the Prime Minister T20 Softball tournament, organised by the Georgetown Softball Cricket League (GSCL), in collaboration with the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Culture, Youth & Sport, the organisers have assured that all systems are in place for the mega softball extravaganza.

Some 30 teams, including four women teams, will be vying for supremacy when the action bowls off at 09.00 hrs on Friday with prize monies topping over two million dollars.

At Sunday’s draw, held at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) pavilion in Queenstown and conducted by GSCL President Ian John, it was revealed that the Masters Over-40 category will now consist of 10 teams, an increase of two from the original eight while the All Stars Open also sees an increase of two and now has eight teams.

John also disclosed that the four women’s teams will contest two semi-finals on Saturday afternoon with the two winners advancing to Saturday’s final. East Coast Warriors will take on Trophy Stall Angels while Upper Demerara All Stars oppose 4 R Lioness. The women’s games will be of 12 overs duration.

The winners are guaranteed $200,000 and a trophy and the runners-up $25, 000 and a trophy. The player of the match in the final will collect a trophy while the player of the tournament gets a blender.

The winners of each of the three other categories (Open All Star, Masters Over-40 and Legends Over-50) will waltz away with a huge $600,000 first prize and a trophy while the runners-up will collect $50,000 and a trophy. Each man-of-the-match gets a trophy. The MVP in the All Stars Open is guaranteed a 50-inch flat screen television, the same as the Over-40 Masters winner while the Legends Over-50 MVP will receive a three-piece sofa.

Following are the preliminary round fixtures: Open All Stars – Friday morning: Group A – Name Brand vs Danging All Stars, Florida Finest vs Ariel All Stars; Group B – Speedboat vs Softball Cricket All Stars, City Star Boys vs Regal All Stars. Friday afternoon: Group A – Name Brand vs Florida Finest, Danging All Stars vs Ariel All Stars. Saturday morning: Group A – Name Brand vs Ariel All Stars, Danging All Stars vs Florida Finest.

Masters Over-40 – Friday morning: Group B – Fisherman vs East Coast Titans, NYSCL vs Canal Number One Scorpions; Group A/C – Regal Masters vs Ariel Masters, Softball Cricket All Stars vs Corriverton, Hibernia vs Success Masters; Friday afternoon – Group B – Fisherman vs NYSCL, East Coast Titans vs Canal Number One Scorpions; Group A/C – Regal vs Corriverton, Softball Cricket All Stars vs Success Maters; Saturday morning – Group B – Fisherman vs Canal Number One Scorpions, East Coast Titans vs NYSCL; Group A/C – Regal vs Success Masters, Softball Cricket All Stars vs Ariel Masters, Hibernia vs Corriverton.

Legends Over-50 – Friday morning: Group A – Jai Hind vs Invaders, NYSCL vs Parika Defenders; Group B – Trophy Stall vs Regal Legends, Toucana Rangers vs East Coast Legends; Friday afternoon – Group A – Jai Hind vs NYSCL Legends, Invaders vs Parika Defenders; Group B – Trophy Stall vs Toucana Rangers, Regal vs East Coast Legends; Saturday morning – Group A – Jai Hind vs Parika Defenders, Invaders vs NYSCL Legends; Group B – Trophy Stall vs East Coast Legends, Regal Legends vs Toucana Rangers.

The Open and Legends categories will see the winners of Group A opposing the runners-up in Group B while the winners of Group B battle the runners-up in Group A in Saturday’s semi-finals.

It should be noted that since the Masters Over-40 division has 10 teams, based on Sunday’s draw, Group B consists of four teams while Groups A and C have three each. The winners of Group B play the runners- up from A/C while the winners of A/C take on the runners-up of B, based on the “criss cross’ system.

Among the venues identified to date for the preliminary rounds are Police Sports Club, Guyana Defence Force, Demerara Cricket Club, Muslim Youth Organisation, Queen’s College, Transport Sports Club and Gandhi Youth Organisation. All four finals are set for the Guyana National Stadium on Sunday, November 13.

At Sunday’s draw, John urged teams to ensure their lists of 15 players are submitted to the GSCL, with the cut off time being Thursday. No additional players will be allowed after the cut off time. He also advised that all teams will be responsible for their own welfare and are asked to purchase balls from Trophy Stall since only balls from that entity can be used in the tournament. A meet and greet is also planned for Thursday afternoon at 16:30 hrs in the DCC pavilion.

Among the several sponsors are Banks DIH Ltd. (Rainforest Waters), Danny Persaud (YouTuber) It’s Our Life ARD, Trophy Stall, Pro Signs, I & S Trading, Tourism Guyana, Reliance Services, Parsram Discount Store, Ameer & Amrit Furniture Store, Khan’s Trading Enterprise, HL Latino America Furniture (Panama), P&P Insurance, Regal Stationery & Computer Centre, Mohamed’s Enterprise, Chung’s Global Enterprise, Atlantic Marine Supplies Inc., Crown Mining Supplies, Rudisa Motor Company (Guy) Inc., Freelancer Advertising Agency, Krisna & Amp; Balram Printery, Rajiv Gandhi University and Ofimak Office Supplies (Panama).