16-team GCB/Tropical Spring T20 over-40 tournament bowls off today

The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB,) in collaboration with Tropical Spring, will bowl off its T20 Over 40 Tournament today (Saturday November 21) from 9:30h across the three counties under strict COVID-19 protocols. At the simple launching ceremony held at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC), representatives of the respective teams were present to welcome the return of cricket.
The designated grounds for Demerara will be the Everest and Enmore cricket grounds; the Berbice matches will be played at the Jai Hind ground, and the Essequibo matches will be played at the Imam Bacchus ground.
The tournament will be the first competition since the GCB was forced to halt its cricket activities due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a consequence, the players of the GCB Tropical Spring T20 Over 40 tournament will have both the privilege and responsibility to engage in an integrative activity geared at facilitating a smooth return to cricket competition and other outdoor cricket activities.
The tournament, which involves 16 teams, will have eight teams in Demerara competing for four quarter- final places, four Essequibo teams battling for two quarter-final places, and four rival teams representing the Berbice location competing for two quarter-final places.

Tropical Spring Lalta Gainda, GCB Secretary Anand Sanasie and GCB’s Territorial Developmental Officer Colin Stuart (Brandon Corlette photos)

The preliminary round of matches will commence today (Saturday November 21) and conclude on Saturday December 5. The quarter-finals will be held on Sunday December 6, the semi-finals on Friday December 11, and the final on Saturday December 12.
The GCB is grateful to the Ministry of Health and the COVID-19 Task Force for granting approval to return to cricket activity. The GCB is calling on all players and officials to assist in ensuring that there is strict adherence to the protocols with respect to the COVID-19 measures.
Further, GCB extends gratitude to its T20 Over 40 sponsor, Tropical Spring. The GCB is proud to be collaborating with Tropical Spring, and wishes the entity increased productivity with its business. In addition, the GCB is grateful to the individual sponsors of the many teams that are a part of this tournament, and wishes them all success in their endeavours.
The tournament promises to be exciting, and will witness the 16 teams competing for a first prize of $250,000 and a runner-up prize of $100,000. The GCB trusts that the National Over 40 Tournament will continue to realize its objective of bringing former experienced players back to the cricket environment, and thereby serve as an impetus for their involvement in relevant facets of the administration of the game, inclusive of coaching and mentorship. The teams are as follows:
The teams from Essequibo are: Reliance Sports Club, Invaders Masters, Imam Bacchus Over 40, and Jaguars Over 40. The teams from Demerara are: West Demerara Masters, West Demerara Mavericks, Everest Masters, Regal Masters, KV Construction Masters, RP Construction Legends, Sand Piper Masters and Bel-Air Rubis Ultra Tec
Berbice Representative Teams are General Marine Masters, Jai Hind Masters, Sarjoo Tigers, and West Berbice Masters.