By Calvin Roberts
The Albion Community Centre ground is expected to come alive today when the home team Albion Community Centre Cricket Club takes on Malteenoes Sports Club in the final of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Carib Beer/Pepsi Twenty20 final.
Albion defeated Rose Hall Town Windies Sport Bar (RHTWSB) to claim the top spot in the Berbice zone of this competition while Malteenoes ousted an East Coast first division side to claim the top spot in Demerara.
By virtue of Young Warriors from Berbice being the defending champions, two of the teams from that county qualified for the final four along with MSC and Leguan, Essequibo’s zone winner.
Subsequently, Albion defeated Leguan in their semifinal by 59 runs at Albion while Malteenoes defeated RHWSB by 82 runs in the national semifinal, bringing about today’s exciting match-up.
The Thomas Lands-based team which is being led by Guyana and West Indies under-19 captain and vice captain respectively Steven Jacobs will be going all out to stop the home team from cantering to a victory and has selected a squad based on youth and experience to that effect.
With the veteran Neil Barry in the middle order, anything can happen and the youngsters should be looking to bat around him. Jacobs himself is known to destroy any batting attack on any given day and taking into consideration his present form in this competition the Albion team can expect a hard day in the field.
With former national under-19 opener Shemroy Barrington who recently was adjudged the Best First Division Batsman in the Georgetown Cricket Association and Imran Hassan at the top followed by Jacobs, Guyana/Stanford Twenty20 stars in Orin Forde and Dion Ferrier, Barry and former national wicket keeper batsman Kenneth Wong, the Albion bowlers will certainly be facing an uphill task on a track that is conducive for batting.
The bowling of the Demerara champions is in the capable hands of former national under-19 fast bowler Jeremiah Harris who will be partnered by former national under-15 fast bowler Denroy George with the new ball. Barry is known to be effective when called upon to use his medium pace.
The spin department will be taken care of by Jacobs who will receive ample support from Forde, Ferrier and the ever reliable Jermaine Joseph who has been putting in some exemplary performances with the new ball for his team recently.
With the unavailability of West Indies opener Sewnarine Chattergoon who is departing for the West Indies camp this morning, along with Imran Khan, another Guyana /Stanford Twenty20 star, and the hard hitting Ranga Lachigadu who is unable to get a flight out of Trinidad in time for the game, a depleted looking Albion side will still be hoping to pull off a victory to ensure that the Twenty20 championship stays in the Ancient County.
To this effect, they will be looking to Ramnarine and Harrinarine Chattergoon, national under-19 batsman Jonathan Foo, Manoj Pooranauth and another hard-hitting wicket keeper/batsman Shastri Persaud to post a reasonable target for their bowlers to have a go at.
National leg spinner Devendra Bishoo is facing the same plight as Lachigadu but the home team can still rely on Guyana and West Indies Under-19 left arm orthodox Verasammy Permaul who will receive support from West Indies under-15 spinner Amir Khan, Berbice under-19 Sahadeo Somai and Heymant Rabindranauth.
Action will commence from 13:00hrs (1:00pm) following the RHWSB/Leguan third and fourth place match-up which begins at 09:00hrs.
RHWSB are still without their national players in brothers Esaun and Royston Crandon and Assad Fudadin who are fulfilling professional duties overseas, but still have in their lineup former national under-19 captain Andre Percival who along with Renwick Batson, Delbert Hicks and Abdel Fudadin can tear apart any bowling at its seam on their day.
The bowling rests in the hands of Batson, Khemraj Mahadeo, Troy Matheison and Jason Sinclair and should not find it too much of a difficult task against the Leguan batsmen led by Bryan Roopchand, who struck a quick fire 27 against Albion in the semifinal, Moneshwar Jathan and captain Trevor Whyte.
