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CLICO two-day U-17 Inter-County cricket (Final round)
Berbice must beat Demerara outright to retain
title
Ricardo Devers
Defending champions Berbice must beat Demerara outright to retain their
Amir Khan
CLICO Under-17 two-day Inter County cricket title when the arch rivals face-off at the Wales cricket ground in West Demerara in the competition’s final round from 10:00hrs today.
Demerara beat Essequibo outright in the opening game to head into today’s deciding encounter with 12 points, six more than Berbice who had to settle for first innings points in a drawn second round match in Berbice and the home team only need to avoid losing outright to regain the coveted title.
A riveting contest is anticipated since the strong Demerara bowling attack should receive its first real test from a Berbice batting line-up which can boast of being the strongest in the tournament.
On what should be a slow track, the early spotlight will be on the genuinely quick 16-year-old Guyana under-19 pacer Kevon Joseph who bowled fast, but without much control against Essequibo.
Easily the quickest bowler in the tournament, Joseph’s opening spell with the new ball could be a crucial one. If the Demerara openers can survive Joseph’s initial burst it could set them up psychologically and tactically for a solid foundation on an outfield which should be quick.
Jomal La Fleur
Kamal Ramkissoon struggled to get the ball away in his first match and he
Harrinarine Chattergoon
could be replaced today by the talented Delon Fernandes who has already represented Demerara at the under-19 level.
Demerara could also toy with the notion of bringing in the attacking West Demerara all-rounder Medha Dhanpaul who also bowls left-arm spin, to replace a middle order batsman.
Once again Demerara will bank on their bowling and on a track expected to ‘turn’ the spin pair of West Indies under-15 leg-spinner Amir Khan and off-spinner Ricardo Devers could have a lot of work to do.
Khan, a stand-by for this year’s Guyana under-19 side, bowls with impeccable control for a wrist spinner while the lanky Devers turns the ball more than most spinners in the country.
Essequibo left-arm spinner Anthony Adams is the only bowler with more wickets than these two in the competition and if pacer Seon Daniels and left-arm seamer Andre Stoll can strike early the Berbicans can be under pressure to score quickly in the first innings to build the foundation for an outright win.
However, restricting the Berbice batting will take some work since Skipper Harrinarine Chattergoon is one of the most talented young stroke players in the country, especially when the ball is not bouncing from the pacers.
Keon Joseph
Jomal La Fleur, the younger brother of National under-19 Captain Eugene La Fleur, has failed twice at the top of the order and will be out to redeem himself with a substantial score in this match.
Dominque Ricky is a stylish little batsman and along with Clinton Pestano and Jamally Odle who both looked good in their first game, Berbice has a very strong middle order.
Apart from Joseph, the Berbice bowling is mainly based on spin with off-spinner La Fleur and left-arm spinner Clinton Carmichael taking four wickets each when Essequibo just managed to avoid defeat in their rain-affected match in Berbice.
Left-arm spinner Bisham Persaud and Pestano, who can bowl useful medium pace, could lend bowling support for the visitors.
Demerara will look to audacious opener Quincy Ovid and the level-headed Shameer Fazal to give them a good start and if Ovid decides to ‘take on’ Joseph the fans could be in for a treat.
Fernandes, Davanand Roopnarine, Arif Habib, Kwame Crosse, Skipper Dexter Solomon and all-rounder Stoll will all hope to contribute with the bat for the hosts.
With the two top teams battling for supremacy in the last opportunity for the players to stake a claim for national under-17 trials selection, a competitive match and good crowd support, especially tomorrow, is anticipated in the tournament’s finale. (Sean Devers)
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