Who’s who in Guyana’s U-19 cricket team (continued)

Jul 01, 2008 Sports

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By Sean Devers
Guyana begin the defence of their West Indies under-19 three-day cricket title against the Leeward Islands in Barbados from July 4 and Kaieteur Sports continues its series of profiles of the 14-man squad, Manager and Coach as the team hunt a hat-trick of titles on the Island where Guyana won their first title when regional youth cricket began 40 years ago.

DILON ALEX HEYLIGER (Santos). Born 21st November 1989
A genuine all-rounder and one of four fast bowlers in the squad, this talented Essequibian scored a highest score of 65 and took 3-30 in his only year at the regional under-15 level in 2005.
He is expected to play a major role with both bat and ball in his debut series. He is the younger brother of former Essequibo youth player Jason Heyliger.

ROYSTON ONVIL ALKINS (DCC/Santos). Born 15th September 1990
One of three Essequibians in the squad, Alkins was one of the brightest Essequibo prospects when he played for Guyana at the under-15 two years ago.
A batting all-rounder who bowls useful off-spin, Alkins whose best performance for Guyana is an unbeaten 50 with the bat and 3-25 with the ball, now plays for City side DCC, but despite his obvious talent his cricket has not progressed at the rate many had expected.
Basically a back foot player, Alkins could do well on the hard Barbados pitches once he can focus on his cricket and convince himself that he is as good as any teenage cricketer in the region. His bowling could be an asset, especially in the One-Day format.

ANTHONY BRAMBLE (Scotsburg United). Born 11th December 1990
The specialist ‘Keeper in the squad, Bramble played at the regional under-15 level in 2006 and come from Skeldon, Guyana’s most Eastern Town just off the Guyana/ Suriname Border.
While DCC’s Denver Greaves is considered Guyana’s best under-19 wicketkeeper and GNIC’s Dexter Solomon is not far behind in standard, Bramble’s batting ability and experience might have clinched his place in the squad for his debut U-19 series and he will hope to better his highest score of 95 during his trip to Barbados.

HERMAN STEVEN LATCHA
(Bermine). Born 29th December 1989
The specialist off-spinner in the team, Lactha, the son of former Berbice senior Inter-County Captain Randolph Latcha, played U-15 cricket for Guyana in 2005 and is a useful lower order batsman whose highest score for his country is 29 not out. His best bowling figures for Guyana is 4-24 and with his ability to flight and spin the ball he could be among the wickets in his debut U-19 series against young Caribbean batsmen who lack patience and technique against quality spin bowling.

KEYRON DOUGLAS FRASER
(Achievers). Born 21st September 1990
One of two fast bowlers in the squad from West Berbice, Fraser is among an impressive crop of teenage pacers who emerged this year and should enjoy pitches with lots more pace and bounce than those in Guyana. The U-19 debutant played for Guyana at the under-15 level in 2006.

KEON ANDRE JOSEPH
(Achievers) Born 16th August 1991
At 16, Joseph is already a genuine fast bowler and impressed last year at the regional under-15 level on the placid Trinidad tracks.
On the heels of 20-year-old fellow West Berbice pacer Brandon Bess’ entry into first-class cricket, Joseph is an exciting prospect and his extra pace should cause problems for the batsmen in Barbados. He is also a capable lower order batsman and his highest score for Guyana is 44, while his best bowling is 2-30. He is definitely one to watch in his first U-19 tournament.

HUBURN JOSEPH EVANS
(Manager)-Young Warriors. Born 16th April 1956
The left-handed Evans, who played the first of his nine first-class matches in 1977, replaced Orin Bailey as Coach in 2004 in Jamaica and has coached the team to back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007.
The 52-year-old still plays at the first division level in Berbice and has played at this level in four different decades. He has scored three fifties including a highest score of 84 not out and averages 37.08 at the first class level. Seven of his first-class matches have been for Berbice, but he also played against Trinidad and Tobago in the 1977 Shell Shield tournament and the touring Australians for Guyana the following year.

Alvin Ricardo Johnson (Parika) Born 19th April 1957
Manager of the team since 2003 when the tournament was played in Guyana, Johnson is President of the Essequibo Cricket Board and Vice-President of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB).
A school teacher by profession, Johnson is a strict disciplinarian and one of the most approachable GCB executives. A firm but fair individual, Johnson played cricket at the club level and has gained the respect of those in the local cricket fraternity because of his apparent genuine interest in the development of Guyana’s cricket as a GCB official.
He is the brother of National under-15 coach Vibert Johnson and father of award winning former NCN Television Sports Journalist Alana Johnson.

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