With six points under their belt and leading the points table currently, defending champions Demerara will face their toughest assignment of the Pepsi senior Inter-County one day tournament when they take on Berbice from 9:00am at the Georgetown Cricket Club ground, Bourda today.
Berbice yesterday released their squad which will be skippered by former West Indies test batsman,
Sewnarine Chattergoon and features some surprise exclusions from the final squad.
The 32 year-old left-handers, who have four International ODI half-centuries under his belt, will have another ex-West Indies player as his deputy in leg-spinner, Devendra Bishoo.
Bishoo recently returned from a three week spin bowling programme in the Caribbean, facilitated by former Pakistan spin legend, Saqlain Mushtaq, along with teammate and West Indies U-19 left-arm orthodox spinner, Gudakesh Moti-Kanhai.
The ancient county which has produced former and current West Indies players the likes of Alvin Kallicharran, Rohan Kanhai, Basil Butcher, Roy Fredericks, Clayton Lambert Mahendra Nagamootoo will seek to conquer the Demerara challenge come today.
However Berbice has placed some of their best young players on standby including national U19 Captain Shawn Pereira, former National U19 all-rounder Clinton Pestano, wicketkeeper/batsman Jason Sinclair and batsman Kevin Ramdeen.
The Berbice squad however, features recently selected West Indies Under-19 batsman, Shimron Hetemyer. The aggressive opening batsman, who has proven his worth over the recent months, displaying maturity and class in the local and Regional levels, will be vital at the top of the order.
Batsmen such as Kandasammy Surujnarine, national all-rounder Romario Shepherd-DeJonge, national senior all-rounder Rajiv Ivan and the returning hard-hitting Jonathan Foo, along with national wicket-keeper/batsman Anthony Bramble and Jomal LaFleur, are some of the notable players to look out for.
The bowling unit comprises of exceptional talent. Keon Joseph, the former West Indies U-19 fast bowler, will be the likely leader of the attack, while Shepherd-DeJonge’s seam option will be a useful asset.
However, their strength lies in the spin department and will need some magic from Bishoo and Moti-Kanhai.
Also in the wings is right-arm off-spinner Eon Hooper, who is touted to be one of the best youngsters in the county.
After reviving the Demerara innings and bringing back some fireworks to the iconic Bourda cricket ground with a brutal yet composed century, Skipper Chris Barnwell and his men will be looking to repeat their outcome from Saturday’s outright win over their first opponents, Essequibo.
Opener Trevon Griffith looked his dangerous self, but was unable to raise his bat at the half-century mark, after being dismissed for 48 due to a ball handling scenario. Vice-Captain Steven Jacobs grabbed two wickets and chipped in with a few runs but will need to step up and contribute heavily with the bat today.
Rajendra Chandrika showed a bit of form in the middle, while the dangerous pair of Shemroy Barrington and Robin Bacchus failed to make an impact. All-rounder Zaheer Mohamed-Shadir picked up a few wickets and slammed a quick fire 49, falling short of what would have been an important half-century down the order.
The Demerara quick bowlers were effective in their trade, but leaked a few runs in the opener. The still managed to pick up wickets at crucial intervals. Their spinners, such as Amir Khan, Jacobs and Mohamed on the other hand, were tidy to some point but remained on target.
Berbice squad: Sewnarine Chattergoon (Captain), Shimron Hetemyer, Romario Shepherd-DeJonge, Jonathan Foo, Rajiv Ivan, Anthony D’Andrade, Anthony Bramble (Wicket-keeper), Devon Clements, Jomal LaFleur, Devendra Bishoo, Keon Joseph, Gudakesh Moti-Kanhai and Eon Hooper.
Standbys: Jason Sinclair, Krisendat Ramoo, Clinton Pestano, Kevin Ramdeen, Shawn Pereira and Waqar Hassan.
The team Manager is Albert Smith and Coach is Hubern Evans
Demerara Squad: Christopher Barnwell (Captain), Steven Jacobs (Vice-Captain),Trevon Griffith, Robin Bacchus, Andrew Lyght Jr, Rajendra Chandrika, Shemroy Barrington, Derwin Christian, Zaheer Mohamed, Amir Khan, Andre Stoll, Paul Wintz, Kellon Carmichael and Shaquille Williams
Standbys: Kemol Savory, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Dennis Legay, Yatesh Dhanpaul, Seon Daniels and Raj Nannan
