AS THE Queenstown-based Demerara Cricket Club celebrates its 100th Anniversary starting today, a strong representative group of cricketers and supporters from the Atlantis Cricket Club, New York, arrived in Guyana this morning to participate in the celebrations, with a packed itinerary.
Dubbed ‘The Guyana Tour 2012’ with a touring party of 32, Atlantis will oppose the Guyana Police Officers at Eve Leary today in a T20 warm-up match in preparation for tomorrow’s T20 match against hosts DCC from 13:00hrs at the club’s ground, followed by a ‘Cricketers Wear and Costume Affair’ at the Edge Lounge tomorrow night.
Atlantis has been the beneficiary of the expatriation of several talented players from DCC, Guyana and the Caribbean, as well as the rest of the cricketing world.
Clive Lloyd, Carlyle Miller, Vincent Mayers, Lennox Bouyea, Leslie Lewis, Lloyd Cornelius, Alvin Lloyd, Winston English, Keith Cameron, Sylvester Albert, Cameron Cuffy, Keith Aaron, Stephen Bamfield, William White, Lennox Cush, Reon King, William Perkins, Rodney Sooklal, and a number of other talented cricketers have filled the roster of Atlantis.
On Saturday, Atlantis will take on a Guyana Police Force XI in another T20 match at Eve Leary, following which, a Black and White Dinner and Ball is planned for the Hotel Tower Poolside, which is being tagged as one of the highlights of the centenary events.
Atlantis’ sojourn in Guyana continues on Sunday, when they spend the day at Splashmins Fun Park on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway, followed by a karaoke session at the DCC pavilion later that evening.
In Monday’s action DCC will host a Guyana Police Force XI at DCC and in the evening, Atlantis will host a ‘By Invitation Only’ cocktail event at the DCC pavilion, which is sponsored by Metallica Commodities Corporation (MCC) Guyana Limited, a local subsidiary of MCC in the USA, one of Atlantis’ principal sponsors.
Tuesday, July 24 is the final of the triangular Centenary T20 Tournament at DCC, followed by an Awards presentation and Closing ceremony; but there will be more cricket in the wings, as a 40-over match is being planned between Atlantis and hosts DCC at DCC next Wednesday, before the Atlantis visitors depart for New York next Thursday.
They will be heading back to compete in this year’s EACA season in which they are currently 7-1, and are in the second phase of the 40-Over tournament, primed to take the title, following one week of hectic cricket action in Guyana.
Atlantis and Big Apple Cricket Clubs, with the consent of the EACA’s Executive Committee, have agreed to play their EACA fixture, scheduled for this weekend, at a later date, so as to accommodate the Atlantis trip to Guyana.
Currently, Atlantis has been fielding a team with an average age of 24, and for the past two years has been led by its youngest skipper ever – 19-year-old Prashant Nair, a left-arm off-spinner who migrated from India and has since represented the USA at the ICC 2011 Global World Cup Under-19 Qualifiers in Ireland.
In 2001, Atlantis and DCC signed a ‘Twinning Agreement’ to foster better cricketing relations between the two clubs and their members and Atlantis decided to roll the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Twinning Agreement into the celebrations of DCC’s centennial this year in Guyana.

The Atlantis squad includes: Prashant Nair (captain), Nicholas Stanford (vice captain), Alex Amsterdam, Orison Amsterdam, Ron Andrew, Henderson Blades, Kavishwar Bridgepaul, Hugh Craig, Casper Davis, Jr, Jason Greaves, Aaron Grimmond, Clifford Hamilton, Jermaine Horatio, Shawn Mason, Greg Robinson, Timothy Rodney and Ryan Sukhdeo. Lester Hooper (manager), Leslie ‘Tulu’ Lewis (Tour Liaison Officer).