Guyana aim for semi-final spot with win against Bajans today

Oct 30, 2009 Sports

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Defending champs T&T favoured to continue unbeaten streak

By Sean Devers
Four matches in the second round of the President’s Cup Regional under-19 50-over cricket tournament are scheduled for today in Guyana and the host aims for a semi-final spot with victory against Barbados at Albion in what should be the match of the round.
After dismissing the Leeward Islands for 193, the powerful Guyana batting, despite 51 from Narsingh Deonarine and 43 from Skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan, struggled to 194-7 to register a win as Test players Sewnarine Chattergoon, Shiv Chanderpaul and Travis Dowlin, who batted down the order at number 6, all failed to get going for Guyana.
Today Guyana will hope for a much better showing from their batsmen, while talented all-rounder Chris Barnwell who is being asked to open both batting and bowling will want to remind the regional selectors of his ability.
Esuan Crandon should share the new ball with Barnwell while spinners Davendra Bishoo and Veerasammy Permaul should enjoy bowling on their home track which is expected to be low and slow with some turn for the spinners.
Guyana should play an unchanged team today and Barbados who clinched a hard fought win against CCC in their opening match, could find conditions at Albion disadvantageous to their brand of cricket.
Kemar Roach looked impressive in his last 2 series for the West Indies makeshift team while Tino Best is fast if at times erratic. The surface could however nullify the pace of the Bajan new ball pair and left-arm spinners Sulieman Benn and Skipper Ryan Hinds along with medium pacer Dwayne Smith could prove Guyana’s biggest threat.
Chasing 172 to beat the TCLG West Indies under-19 side, Barbados lost 8 wickets in hunting down their target with only Martin Nurse (40) and Kirk Edwards (32) reaching 30. It took an unbeaten 27 from Benn to see them home against the teenagers and both teams will want to improve their batting performance on what should be a fast outfield today.
A win for either team will guarantee them a place in next week’s Day/Night semi-finals.
Pre-Tournament favorites Trinidad and Tobago shrugged off the fatigue of arriving in Guyana less than 10 hours before the start of their opening match with an emphatic 90-run win as they efficiently defended the 201-9 off 44 overs against Jamaica.
While Jamaica were without key players Skipper Chris Gayle, Shawn Findley and Jerome Taylor due to illness, their 111-9 off 44 overs was disappointing even though the conditions at the Providence stadium were tailor-made for the T&T bowling attack.
Today, T&T, who again exhibited wonderful team cricket in their opening match, will want to continue their winning ways when they face the Windward Islands on an Uitvlugt pitch that should provide prodigious turn for their spinners, Dave Mohamed, Sherwin Ganga and Samuel Badree who failed to better the record of 10 overs for 5 runs from Derrick Parry in 1982.
Badree, who opened the bowling, finished with 0-8 from 9 overs. Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard should also relish the sluggish Uitvlugt track.
Poor shot selection, steady bowling and the low pitches in Guyana have combined to produce a string of low scores in the first round and with the West Indies selectors watching, the T&T batsmen, like the others in the competition, will want to impress with big scores.
Adrian Barath, Lindl Simmons, the Bravo siblings, the Ganga brothers, Denesh Ramdin and Pollard could all produce with the bat.
The Windward bowlers, Dighton Butler, Nelon Pascal Skipper Daren Sammy and the spinners Rawle Lewis, Liam Sebastien and Shane Shillingford should also like conditions at the West Coast Demerara venue.
Despite 65 from Sammy, who it is understood is being considered for the job of West Indies Captain, the Windwards lost by a run to CCC in their first match and today Devon Smith, who made a duck on Wednesday, Miles Bascombe, Andrew Fletcher, Lewis, Sammy, Sebastien, Shillingford and Craig Emmanuel will be required to score if the Windwards are to rebound from their first round defeat.
Jamaica, who should be strengthened by the return of Gayle, Taylor and Findley, will want to beat CCC badly to stay in the race for a semi-final place and if Gayle, Brenton Parchment, Xavier Marshall, Danza Hyatt, Wavel Hinds, Carlton Baugh and David Bernard get going, the Floyd Reifer led CCC could be put under plenty of pressure today in their game at Bourda.
With several players with international experience in their team due to decision by their players not to support the senior players’ strike action, CCC is an improving team at this level and Reifer, who top-scored with an unbeaten 45 in the first match against the Windwards, is at home at the Regional level.
The 37-yeqar-old Reifer, who has failed miserable as West Indies Captain with the bat, will want to prove that he is better than his Test average of 9.25 suggests.
With all the controversy in West Indies cricket, Omar Phillips, Romel Currency, Simone Jackson, Nekoli Parris, Chad Walton and Kejorn Ottley will all feel they stand a realistic chance of getting picked for the Australian tour if they can manufacture big scores.
The TCL Group West Indies under-19 side, played good cricket in their game against Barbados and if they decide to strengthen their batting by including opener Trevon Griffith and Andre Creary today to compliment Kraigg Braithwaite, Evin Lewis Yannick Ottly, Yannick Carriah and  Shane Dowrich, they could give the Leewards a run at Providence.
Akeem Dewar took the Man-of-the-Match in a losing cause on Wednesday and along with pacer Keon Joseph, talented off-spinner Dalton Polius and left arm spinner Jomal Warrican will try to restrict the Leewards batting which include Runako Morton, Keron Powell, Chesney Hughes, Tonito Willett, Steve Liburd and Wilden Cornwall.
Lionel Backer and Gavin Tonge give the Leewards a potent new ball attack while Willett and Justin Athanaze and Anthony Martin will do the spinning. Each match starts at 09:15hrs and although the sun was out yesterday afternoon after a heavy morning shower, major rain could be a concern today, especially for the matches in Demerara.

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