By Marlon Munroe
The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Senior Four-Day Inter-County competition bowls off today with Essequibo clashing with Demerara and the Rest Team taking on Berbice at Anna Regina and Demerara Cricket Club ground respectively.
The format of the tournament has been altered to ensure a higher level of competitiveness with the addition of the Rest Team. That team has been chosen from the reserve players from the three counties and will be captained by national wicketkeeper Derwin Christian.
Demerara has at its helm West Indies middle order batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan, Berbice will be led by national middle order batsman and one of Guyana’s most reliable batsmen Assad Fudadin while Ramesh Narine leads his charges from the Cinderella County.
In black and white, it seems as if Demerara and Berbice will once again contest a national final especially since the original format of the Inter-County tournament was revised by the GCB because Essequibo was not as competitive as Berbice and Demerara.
On the other hand, the presence of Sarwan, former opening batsman Sewnarine Chattergoon, Narsingh Deonarine, the highest run scorer in the regional four-day tournament last year, and former WI One-day batsman Leon Johnson should raise the standard of the tournament as was the case last year.
Additionally, there are some players in the tournament that have to further prove that they are ready for the next level of competition.
Some cases in point are the abundantly talented and equally impulsive Christopher Barnwell and Steven Jacobs, the fiery Brandon Bess, Trevon Garraway the young, stylish batsman Trevon Griffith and the level-headed fast bowlers Leon Scott and Seon Daniels. Their roles are extremely important in the teams they are representing and this tournament will serve as a scope for them to leave an indelible print on the tournament.
Barnwell, Jacobs, Bess and Garraway were a part of the Guyana national team that contested the Regional Four-Day tournament last year but their performances were quite mediocre and this was partly responsible for Guyana finishing in the cellar position. Combined Campuses and Colleges and Windward Islands beat Guyana outright in that tournament.
With all these odds stacked against the cream of Guyana’s top cricketers, there should be a higher standard of play and fight despite the waning standards of the game in the country.
From all indications, the four most senior players in the tournament are gearing to leave their mark in the championships, especially after successful knocks at various times in county boards and countrywide tournaments.
In the same vein, emerging players will be looking to impress as the air is rife with expectation for a fresh face to emerge from the ashes. GCB recently rolled out a developmental plan to rescue cricket in the country and hopefully the players, especially the young ones, that it intends to target will stick to their task and show their worth since selectors have shown confidence in them.
Demerara team reads: Ramnaresh Sarwan (Capt), Zaheer Mohamed (V/Capt), Rajendra Chandrika, Shemroy Barrington, Christopher Barnwell, Leon Johnson, Krishna Deosarran, Gajanand Singh, Stephen Jacobs, Joseph Perry (wicketkeeper), Leon Scott, Troy Gonsalves, and Damian Vantull.
Berbice: Assad Fudadin (Capt), Homchand Pooran (vice capt.), Sewnarine Chattergoon, Narsingh Deonarine, Arthley Bailey, Rajin Ivan, Ranga Latchana, Eugene LaFleur, Delbert Hicks (wicketkeeper), Veerasammy Permaul, Brandon Bess, Esaun Crandon, Keon Joseph and Devendra Bishoo.
Essequibo: Ramesh Narine (Capt) Norman Fredericks (V/Capt), Yogeshwar Lall, Mohindra Boodram, Latchman Rohit, Dellon Heliger, Anthony Adams, Nazir Mohamed, Trevor Benn, Trevon Garraway, Lennox Andrew (wicketkeeper), Andrew Williams and Andrew Wong.
Rest Team: Derwin Christian (Captain), Ryan Ramdass (VC), Trevon Griffith, Vishal Singh, Royan Fredericks, Richard Ramdeen, Deon Ferrier, Steven Latcha, Seon Daniels, Keyron Frazer, Alex Amsterdam, Sauid Drepaul and Vishwanauth Lall.