8 teams set for battle in Beharry Schools’ national play-offs

…New, full uniforms presented to final 8 schools

Each of the zonal champions in the Beharry National Under-19 Schools’ T20 Cricket tournament has been decided, and as such, the competition will move into the national play-off stage.
The eight teams have been sorted into two groups of four, where they will compete before moving on to the knockout games.
Group A will feature Queen’s College (QC), Essequibo Islands, Covent Garden, and Abram Zuil Secondary, while Group B comprises Annandale Secondary, Berbice Education Institute (BEI), West Side High, and St Stanislaus College.
The first round of the national play-offs is set to bowl off this Sunday, August 9, with the second and third rounds scheduled for Tuesday, August 11, and Thursday, August 13, respectively.
Tournament coordinator Azizi Christiani went on to break down how the knockout round will unfold.
Christiani detailed after divulging the fixtures for rounds 1-3, “Then we’ll move into the play-off of this leg, where we would have the winner of Group A taking on the winner of Group B; the winner would go straight to the final. The runner-up of Group A would take on the runner-up of Group B; the winner goes to Qualifier Two, and the loser is eliminated and automatically given fourth place. Qualifier Two will feature the loser of Qualifier One and the winner of the Eliminator. The winner of that match will go to the final, and the loser will automatically be given third place.”
Meanwhile, Beharry Holdings Group Marketing Manager Malissa Sylvester described the competition as a platform to discover talent, which Beharry is proud to be a part of.
“We’ve seen some excellent displays of cricket, so cricket is in good hands with the talent that we’ve seen bourgeoning across the country. And it was important for us to tap into the talent that is available, not just in Georgetown which gets all of the attention, but we know historically a lot of talent from the national teams come from the other regions,” Sylvester noted.
She further committed, “So, we’ll continue to do our best so that we give all this talent the visibility and the opportunity to be recognised for it and open up opportunities to go beyond. This is just the start of your cricketing career; there’s so much ahead of you, and at Beharry Group, we want to be part of that journey.”
As the teams prepared to be briefed on rules and regulations by coordinators Petra Organisation, Allied Arts Head Nicholas Fraser reiterated the importance of the competition.
“This competition has been something that has been on the cards for a long time. I think that there was a lot that went in to ensure that this actually came off. I think, in terms of its importance, everybody agrees that we should have a school competition for cricket. Cricket is something Guyanese live for, and traditionally, we’ve been doing quite well in the sport,” Fraser highlighted.
“So, it made sense for everyone to do this,” the Head of Allied Arts added.
Sunday’s first round will see Essequibo Islands Secondary taking on QC while Abram Zuil Secondary goes head-to-head with Covent Garden Secondary, both at 10:00h. At 14:00h, West Side High opposes St Stanislaus College while BEI battles Annandale Secondary.
All games on Sunday will be played at the QC ground, while Rounds Two and Three will see the action moving to Anna Regina, Wakenaam, Albion and Cotton Tree, allowing teams to host “home matches”.
Qualifier One and the Eliminator are scheduled for Sunday, August 16; Qualifier Two on Tuesday, August 18; and the grand final on Sunday, August 23, at a yet-to-be-confirmed venue.