Latest update April 18th, 2025 8:12 AM
All-time Berbice Under-19 XI announced
Percival named Captain
Former West Indies skipper Andre Percival was named Captain of an All-time Berbice X1 at the Berbice Cricket Board (BCBC) Second Annual Awards Ceremony at State House in New Amsterdam recently.
Andre Percival
Head of the three-man selection committee, former Guyana under-19 and senior Berbice off-spinner Sean Devers said picking an all-time Berbice side was a difficult task and explained that only statistics and performances at the under-19 level was taken into consideration during the selection process.
“The success or failure of any player after their teenage years made no impact on the final X1 chosen. Performances were taken only from the regional under-19 tournaments and not the schoolboy competition in 1968 or the under-21 tournament in 1969 leaving players like Alvin Kallicharran ineligible for selection,” Devers, an International radio cricket commentator and journalist told the audience which included the Guyana senior team.
Local cricket Historian and statistician Charwayne Walker and Berbice umpire and Journalist Samuel White were the other members of the selection panel.
Devers, Guyana’s leading wicket taker in the 1987 West Indies under-19 series in Jamaica, told the gathering that it was important for the young players to understand the history of the game so that they can be inspired by those who came before them, and commended the BCBC for recognizing those who made a contribution to the county’s cricket.
He told the young players not to forsake their education for cricket and the older ones to do research on the game by reading and watching videos of ‘old’ players.
Devers, who represented both Berbice and Demerara at the senior level, explained how the team was selected and provided a background to each player selected.
He also named the contenders who were not selected in the final XI which BCBC’s Hilbert Foster said will be changed every three years to accommodate new players who might excel at the regional U-19 level.
Percival was on hand to collect the team list from Devers while Narsingh Deonarine was the other member of the All-Time Berbice team present.
The All-Time
Berbice X1 read
Andre Percival (Captain), Gopie Beasmonie, Sudesh Dhaniram, Tyrone Etwaroo, Narsingh Deonarine, Hemnarine Chattergoon, Vishal Nagamootoo, Mahendra Nagamootoo, Suresh Ganouri, Ray Joseph, Albert Smith (Coach), Leslie Amsterdam (Manager).
Who missed out:
Several other players were considered from their performances at the regional under-19 level since 1970 and Devers said that Shawn Grant from Rose Hall Town, who was outstanding during Guyana’s 1997 victorious campaign on home soil, just missed out to Fingall because of the latter’s batting ability.
“Although Albion’s off-spinner Michael Chinsammy captured 26 wickets in the 1994 tournament in Barbados, Ganouri’s achievements were from fewer matches. Six compared to Chinsammy’s eight, and Ganouri’s 1976 record also came into account.
Orvin Mangru, who has the best bowling by a Guyanese at regional under-19 level (9-116 in Barbados in 1999), was also considered as the off-spinner”, He added.
Devers, a Level 1 Coach and umpire, informed that Gajanand Singh scored the most runs in a single series for Guyana in 2006 but he like many other outstanding Berbice batsmen like Kennedy Venkasammy, Hoomchand Pooran, Clayton Lambert, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Naim Baksh, Assad Fudadin and Deonarine Persaud, could not make the final X1 due to the performances of those selected.
“Among the bowlers, leg-spinners Andy Chinsammy shares the record (36) for most wickets in a series for Guyana with Mahendra Nagamootoo, while Arjune Nandu is rated as Guyana’s most complete leg-spinner at youth level.
However, Nagamootoo’s consistency with the ball and ability with the bat make him a genuine all-rounder at youth level and an automatic selection.
Hemnarine Harrinarine was considered as the left-arm spinner but it was felt that Dhaniram and Deonarine would be adequate spin support to Nagamootoo and Ganouri,” Devers noted.
Facts about those selected
Andre Percival
Gopie Beasmonie
Sudesh Dhaniram
Tyrone Etwaroo
Narsingh Deonarine
Hemnarine Chattergoon
Vishal Nagamootoo
Mahendra Nagamootoo
Suresh Ganouri
Ray Joseph
David Fingall
(Port Mourant) – Fingall was the first Berbician fast bowler to capture ten or more wickets in a regional under 19 match. Fingall had 11 for 126 against the Windward Islands in 1988. He also was a pugnacious left-handed batsman at under-19 level. (West Berbice/Malteenoes) – The only Berbician fast bowler to represent the West Indies at the under-19 level, Joseph was sensational against young England in 1980 in the Caribbean after bowling with devastating pace for Guyana during the 1979 Benson & Hedges under-19 tournament. (Albion) – This off-spinner tormented batsmen when Guyana won back to back regional under 19 championships in 1975 and 1976. His match haul of 13 for 59 against the Windward Islands at Rose Hall in 1976 was a regional record until 1994 when it was broken by Dinanath Ramnarine. Ganouri took 19 wickets form three matches in 1976 and 14 from three in 1975. (Port Mourant) – Guyana’s record holder for most wickets at regional under-19 level, he also shares the record for the most wickets in a regional under-19 tournament (36) with Andy Chinsammy. Mahendra also is the only player at the regional under-19 level to score a century and capture seven wickets in an innings in a regional under 19 match (1995 vs. the Windward Islands) in Grenada. (Port Mourant) – The only Guyanese to keep wicket for the West Indies at the under-19 level since 1970, Vishal also has the highest score by a wicketkeeper in regional under-19 cricket for Guyana (96 vs. the Windward Islands 1995). (Albion) – the only player in the Caribbean to score centuries in his first and second matches in regional under-19 cricket, also scored a century against Pakistan under-19 at the (Mecca) Kensington Oval 1996. (Albion) – He is the only Guyanese to score a regional under-19 limited overs century (His ton in the 1999 series in Barbados was the first at regional U-19 one-day level) and along with Jamaican Robert Samuels is the only player to represent the West Indies under-19s on three occasions. Narsingh went to the third ICC’s World Cup in Sri Lanka 2000, to the United Kingdom in 2001 and 2002 as captain to the fourth ICC’s World Cup in New Zealand. He is also the second Berbician to captain a West Indies under-19 team. (Port Mourant) – He is the first Guyanese to score a century for the West Indies at the under 19 level (139 vs. young England) at Worcester 1978. (Port Mourant) – The most consistent Berbice opening batsman to represent Guyana at U-19 level, his 163 against Barbados remains the highest score by a Berbician in regional youth cricket. (Port Mourant) – He scored the first century for Guyana at the Regional under-19 level (110 vs. Trinidad at McKenzie Sports Club Ground) and was a member of the first West Indies under-19 team that toured England in 1970. (Port Mourant/Rose Hall Town) – He is the only captain in the Caribbean to win three consecutive regional under 19 championships. He represented the West Indies at the under-19 level twice; in 1993 to the United Kingdom and 1995 when he became the first Berbician to captain the West Indies at the under-19 level. :
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