Inter-county cricket returns to Albion – B’ce U-19 players upbeat to play at home

After an absence of more than five years, Berbice will witness the return of inter-county cricket when its U-19 side play the Essequibo U-19 side at Albion Community Centre Ground on Monday, May 13, 2019.
Fresh from winning the Three-Day Championship title, Berbice will now look to defend their One-Day title when the match bowls off from 9:30h local time.
The last time that an inter-county under-19 match was played at Albion was in July 2013, when Berbice took on Demerara.
Speaking to <<Guyana Times Sport,>> Berbice captain Kevlon Anderson said it would be the first time he would be playing an inter-county match at home.
A confident Anderson said his team would look to start on a positive note, and playing at least one match at home is a big plus. “It is always nice to play at home, in front of families and friends; and we are expecting a big turnout,” he said.
Anderson has had only one score of 50 in the just concluded three-day tournament, and he added that his training camp in Antigua played a role in his performance.
“…in Antigua, we were playing a lot of back-foot shots in camp, and the first few games in this inter-county I was still acclimatising,” he explained.
He added that he would be aiming to score the most runs in this one-day version of the tournament, and the rest will be important for him to reboot.
As with all his other teammates, West Indies U-19 selectee Kelvin Umrao is also happy to play on his home ground. The ‘home boy’ has played all his cricket at the Albion Cricket ground, the same historic venue that once hosted international cricket.
The One-day format may see some changes made to the Berbice 14-member squad. When the players returned to Berbice on Friday afternoon after the Hand-in-Hand match, they were asked to attend an important meeting with BCB president Hilbert Foster. The 14 players are: Kevlon Anderson, Kelvin Umrao, Junior Sinclair, Seon Glasgow, Nigel Deodat, Doorasammy Mahadeo, Garfield Benjamin, Leon Swamy, Gevon Schultz, Alex Algoo, Deonauth Persaud, Carl Gilgeous, Aaron Beharry and Chris Harry.
Chanderpaul Govindhan, Shamar Angel and Jitendra Outar are the players omitted from the 14 that were asked to attend the meeting prior to the opening game of the one-day tournament. (Brandon Corlette)