Top Guyanese cricketers to feature in senior inter-county today

By Brandon Corlette

The top cricketers in Guyana will be in action today at the Georgetown Cricket Club, Bourda and Everest Cricket Club in the opening round of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) senior male inter-county 50-over tournament.

Berbice, who are the defending champions of the tournament that was last played in 2014, will take on Demerara at Bourda, while Essequibo will play GCB President’s XI at Everest Cricket Club. Both matches will commence from 09:00h.
With the matches being played on a National Holiday in Guyana, fans are expected to grace the event with their presence at the venues, but live streaming via the GCB Facebook/YouTube pages will be provided to those unable to be present at the venues.

Berbice will be led by Test player Veerasammy Permaul while Shimron Hetmyer will also be available to play. Romario Shepherd, Jonathan Foo, Gudakesh Motie, Nial Smith, Junior Sinclair, and Kevin Sinclair are among the notable names in the star-studded Berbice team. Motie and Anthony Bramble are expected to be absent for the first round, but will return for the other fixtures.

Meanwhile, the Demerara team will have a world of experience, with Captain Leon Johnson leading the charges while Christopher Barnwell, Vice Captain Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Tevin Imlach, Ashmead Nedd, and Akshaya Persaud are among the notable players for the city side.
The Essequibo team will be led by the consistent Antony Adams, while the likes of Keemo Paul and Ronsford Beaton are expected to feature at some point in the tournament. The GCB President’s XI will have the services of Trevon Griffith, an experienced opener while West Indies youth player Matthew Nandu will be the Vice Captain. Notable young players are the highlight of the GCB President’s XI, including the promising Mavendra Dindyal, Jonathan Rampersaud, Garfield Benjamin, and Shamar Joseph.

Both matches are expected to produce runs since the outfields at Bourda and Everest are relatively small. This tournament will be used as a yardstick to select the Guyana Harpy Eagles team to play the upcoming Regional Super50 tournament, that is tentatively set for Antigua and Barbuda and Trinidad and Tobago.
Berbice: Veerasammy Permaul (Captain); Kevlon Anderson; Shimron Hetmyer; Rampertab Ramnauth; Jonathon Foo; Anthony Bramble; Jason Sinclair; Romario Shepherd; Clinton Pestano; Junior Sinclair; Kevin Sinclair; Gudakesh Motie; Nial Smith and Demetri Cameron.

Reserves: Kelvin Umroa, Seon Glasgow, Nigel Deodat, Eon Hooper, Sylus Tyndall
GCB President’s XI: Trevon Griffith (Captain); Matthew Nandu (Vice Captain); Zachery Jodah; Mavendra Dindyal; Jonathan Rampersaud; Kwesi Mickle; Garfield Benjamin; Raj Nannan; Ricardo Peters (wicketkeeper); Avinash Persaud; Akini Adams; Shamar Joseph and Keyron Fraser.
The reserve players are Suresh Dhanai and Leo Rayan Ramlakhan.
Demerara: Leon Johnson (Captain); Tagenarine Chanderpaul (Vice Captain); Chandrapaul Hemraj; Tevin Imlach; Jeremiah Scott; Akashaya Persaud; Steven Sankar; Christopher Barnwell; Ashmed Nedd; Richie Looknauth; Ronaldo Ali Mohamed; Qumar Torrington; Derick Mc Calmont and Sachin Singh.
Reserves: Shamar Yearwood, Alvin Mohabir, Larrel Parks, Anthony Lim, Carlos La Rose, and Joshua Persaud.
Essequibo: Antony Adams (Captain); Ricardo Adams; Kevon Boodie; Quintin Sampson; Kemol Savory; Neiland Cadogan; Nathan Persaud; Garfield Phillips; Eknauth Persaud; Haimant Singh; Wasim Mohamed; Kevin Christian; Ronsford Beaton and Keemo Paul.
Reserves: Joshua Jones, Leo Ryan Ramlakhan, Akini Adams, Avinash Persaud, Shane Wong, and Ricardo Peters.