THE dye has been cast and the stage is set for Sunday’s matches in the inaugural Kares Engineering and Bushy Park Sawmill-sponsored nationwide 10/10 tapeball tournament when same climaxes at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, but a dark cloud may surround same. Four teams, namely The Pitbulls, Albion, Invaders and Dyna’s Bravados had qualified for the semifinals in the male category, but Dyna’s Bravados were disqualified by the Guyana Softball League (GSL), who claimed they played unregistered players in their quarter-final encounter against Cotton Tree Die Hard.
With that in mind, Invaders who were down to face Dyna’s Bravados have received a bye to the final where they await the winner of The Pitbulls versus Albion semifinal match-up which promises to be an exciting one that can also be dubbed a Georgetown versus Berbice affair by many.
There is no doubt that many would be backing Albion to pull off the upset win, taking into consideration Berbice’s dominance of cricket on the local scene over the past two years, along with the fact that they compete as a combined unit in the gentleman’s game in the Ancient County.
But what may sadden the smooth running of the tournament, which saw over 900 teams battling for supremacy within the past two months, is the legal action that is being taken by the Dyna’s Bravados team against the GSL for their disqualification.
According to sources within the team, representatives of the GSL presented a photocopy of their team list to them at the Georgetown Cricket Club ground last Saturday, after their convincing quarterfinal win over Cotton Tree Die Hard.
‘First of all, the manager’s signature attached to that team list is that of an individual who left these shores long before this tournament was launched. Added to that, they are saying our opening batsman Nigel Estriado’s name was not submitted and that is false as he is a close confidant of the captain for the past 15 years.
This skullduggery that the GSL is trying to pin on us is unfair and 100% false. We have played with this team in several competitions before the Kares 10/10 and all they have to do is run back their records and they will see. We have not cheated anyone out of anything and we don’t intend to be cheated out of our rights to battle for the top prize.”
The source, who chose to remain anonymous, further stated that the matter is engaging the attention of the Courts and they will wait for justice to take its course, while efforts to contact the GSL for a comment on the issue proved futile.
Apart from the male semifinals, Mike’s Wellwoman and 4R Lionesses will clash in one female semifinal while the other will pit Rose Hall Town Metro against Trophy Stall XI, with the winners meeting in the final for a top prize of $500 000 and a trophy.
Preceding the male and female semifinal matches are the school finals in both male and female categories, with J. C. Chandisingh Secondary whose lineup includes Lloydel Lewis and Shailendra Shameer, taking on St Rose’s High in the Schoolboys final.
The Schoolgirls’ final should also be an exciting affair between L’Aventure Secondary School of West Bank Demerara and IPE Divas XI from East Coast Demerara, with the respective school winners receiving $200 000 each to be used for a school project.
A grand giga concert headlined by Jamaica’s Grammy Award winning artiste Shaggy and featuring Rikki Jai and Hunter from Trinidad and Tobago, Peter Ram from Barbados and Guyana’s Mahendra Ramkellawan will satiate the appetite of the cricket-lovers after the games.