Three-day champions Demerara will play Essequibo at the Wales Community Centre Ground while Berbice will come against a spirited Select Under-17 team at Enterprise Cricket Club in the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Hand-In-Hand Under-19 Inter-county 50-over Tournament.
Bhaskar YadramRonaldo ReneeAdrian Sukwah
The pulsating match should be between Demerara and Essequibo as both teams have in their armoury some of the top young talent in the country.
Demerara will certainly be buoyed by their victory in the three-day segment and Captain Travis Persaud will want to complete the double.
Demerara’s strength lies in their batting and the in-form opener, Ronaldo Renee will want to show the selectors he can adapt to the shorter version of the game.
Renee, who also does the duties of wicketkeeper, was in sublime form in the three-day matches, with three scores over fifty, including 165 not out and 99.
Fellow opener Raymond Perez, who also notched a century in the three-day matches, along with Renee, could pose a serious challenge for the Essequibo bowlers.
The attacking Sherfene Rutherford will certainly want to get a big score under his belt and is well-suited to this format of the game, since he has an appetite for playing the big shots.
Ronlado Ali-Mohammed and Captain Persaud are certainly no mugs with the bat and can aid in posting formidable totals.
On the flip side, Essequibo also have powerful batting strength as Captain and West Indies Under-19 Champion, Keemo Paul has already shown a glimpse of his pugnacious batting.
Against the Under-17s, Paul made a belligerent 96 from just 43 balls, decorated with nine fours and five sixes. His crafty medium pace will also come in handy.
Opener Mark Williams is another attacking player for the boys from the Cinderella County as he generally looks to go after the bowlers, but will need to have better shot selection if he is going to kick-on to bigger scores.
All-rounder Looknauth Chinkoo and Jonathan Fernandes give Essequibo some lower-order batting power, while the canny left-arm spin of Akini Adams could restrict the big-hitting Demerara batsmen.
Over at Enterprise, the Under-17s will start as favourites considering Berbice’s below-par performances, especially with the bat.
Under-17s Captain Bhaskar Yadram will be fresh off his 177 against the same opponents on Saturday in a three-day match and will want to mirror that performance today.
Opener Joshua Persaud has looked in good touch in the tournament, along with all-rounder Kelvin Sinclair; as such, Coach Garvin Nedd will be banking on the youngsters continuing in the good vein.
Experienced left-arm spinner Ashemad Nedd will lead the Under-17s’ bowling along with seamer Joshua Jones.
Berbice, on the other hand, will need their batsmen to step up and post more challenging totals to give their bowlers a chance to put pressure on the opposition.
After today’s play, Round Two will commence on Wednesday when Berbice play Demerara at Wales and Essequibo face the Select U-17s at Everest.
Round Three will be played on Friday, as Demerara face the Select U-17s at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) and Berbice play Essequibo at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC).
The final, which is slated for Sunday at GCC, will be contested by the top two teams.
Demerara: Travis Persaud (Captain); Ronaldo Alimohamed (Vice Captain); Ronaldo Renee; Raymond Perez; Sherfane Rutherford; Vishwanauth Ramlakhan; Malcom Hubbard; Ramnarine Chatura; Kelvin Shewpersaud; Romain Muniram; Darshan Persaud; Ershad Ali; Samuel McKenzie; Keshram Shabodan and Gavin Boodwah. The Coach is Clive Grimmond and the Manager is Omar Hussain.
Berbice: Brandon Prashad (Captain); Adrian Sukwah (Vice Captain); Sasenarine Sookhoo; Trevon Caesar; Joshua Harrichand; Ritesh Omroa; Matthew Hardial; Randy Wade; Joel Seitaram; Vevekanand Jagit; Asif Ally; Nicholas Seenarine; Raymond Vankenic and Sylus Tyndall. The Manager is Julian Cambridge and the Coach is Delbert Hicks.
Essequibo: Keemo Paul (Captain); Sachin Persaud (Vice Captain); Akini Adams; Looknauth Chinkoo; Siddiq Mohamed; Leslie Allen; Nathan Persaud; Jonathan Fernandes; Travay Wolfe; Dwayne Thomas; Stesh Lachanana; Mark Williams; Reaz Khan and Miguel Jones. The Manager is Nandkishure Andrews and the Coach is Forbes Daniels.
Selects U-17s: Bhaskar Yadram (Captain); Kelvin Sinclair (Vice Captain); Joshua Persaud; Ashmead Nedd; Kurt Lovell; Rayon Venture; Javed Karim; Sagar Hathiramani; Steve Deonarine; Collin Barlow; Joshua Jones; Kelvin Umroa; Tameshwar Motiram; Kevlon Anderson; Alphius Bookie; Joel Fortune and Sachin Singh. The Manager is Nazeer Mohamned and the Coach is Garvin Nedd.
