When the fourth edition of the Georgetown Softball Cricket League Incorporated’s Prime Minister’s T20 Cup bowls off tomorrow, Regal side are confident of a clean sweep once again.
Regal are the reigning champions in the three categories, All-Stars Open category, Masters Over-45 and Legends Over-50.
Owner of the powerhouse franchise, Mahendra Hardyal, who copped the Most Valuable Player award last year in the Legends category, spoke to this publication ahead of their title defence.
Hardyal explained that despite the weather and Covid-19 hampering preparation, the teams still remain in good spirits.
“As we speak, we’ve only been playing on the weekends because we aren’t able to practice because of rain and everything else but as seasoned players I guess we are going to come through well…so looking at it we are very confident that we are going to pull off the triple once again,” he contended.
Hardyal indicated that while there will be no overseas-based teams participating, there are some players who live overseas that will join forces with local teams to bring stiffer competition.
“Well, looking at the composition of the team and our competitors, I know of course there is going to be some flavors from overseas who will be gracing the shores to play with the Berbice and Speedboat teams so in the Open category that is going to be really a really good competition.
“In the over-45 competition, I think there are only local teams and in the Over-50 there are a few players in that set up…” Hardyal explained.
Like those teams, Hardyal said that Regal has included a couple of new players in their set up but the core remains the same.
“We have the inclusion of two or three players in the whole set up, because it’s a pool of players we having coming from Essequibo, Berbice and Demerara so just about two or three new players including well known Anthony Ifill and former national under-19 player, Ejaz Mohamed,” he said.
Hardyal pointed out that the absence of spectators will have a big impact on the tournament but expressed his desire for the Covid Task Force, of which Prime Minister Mark Phillips is the National Director, would relax the rule a bit to allow families to come in at a restricted number and witness the action.
The Regal owner reiterated that all protocols will be enforced including doctors walking around, testing being done, sanitization points and masks around the venues.
He highlighted that it was a priority for everyone involved to have the tournament set the standard for the recommencing of sports locally.
“We want to set the standard high so that other sporting fraternities will have an opportunity to go out back and play sports because sports play a very integral role in our daily lives,” he stated.
The tournament will bowl off tomorrow and will see matches through the weekend while the curtain will come down on Sunday. Teams will be battling across several grounds in Georgetown and will look to walk away with the $200,000 first prize per category.
Over-50 teams: Regal Legends, Rockaways legends, President’s XI, Parika Defenders, Floodlights and Savage.
Over-45 teams: Regal Masters, Fisherman Masters, Success Masters, Wellman Masters, HS Masters and Sunrise Masters.
Open teams: Regal Masters, Berbice Spartans, Speedboat, Bartica Rangers All Stars, Cost Cutters All Stars and Ariel
