GCA to hold U-19 Trial match on Saturday

Mar 18, 2010 Sports

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Team for Inter Association tourney to be named this weekend

By Sean Devers

The Junior Selection Committee of the Georgetown Cricket Association has added six players to its 22-man training squad and will now hold a one-day trial match at the Malteenoes ground on Saturday and possibly another on Sunday at the same venue.
The City team to participate in the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) Inter Association 50-over competition which is now scheduled to commence on March 27, is expected to be named this weekend.
According to a GCA official there was some confusion regarding the format of the Inter-Association competition which will be used to select the Demerara team for the Inter-County tournament which is now set to begin on April 7.
“We were told that the Inter Association competition was a two-day tournament resulting in us changing our two planned one-day trials last weekend to a two-day match at DCC. We were then informed that the DCB competition will continue to be a 50-over per side event which means that we are now running off a one-day trial on Saturday,” the GCA official explained.
The final day of three practice sessions fixed for Malteenoes will no longer be held today and Demerara selector Mark Harper informed that Saturday’s practice match is scheduled to commence at 09:30hrs.
Former Demerara under-19 left-handed batsman Orin Hutson will manage the Georgetown side and informed that six players have been added to the 22 for Saturday’s one-day trial.
Guyana under-17 and Demerara under-19 off-spinner Ricardo Devers and former Guyana under-15 all-rounder Carlos La Rose were among the notable omissions in the 22-man squad after poor performances in the two-day trial match.
They along with Jahron Bryan, who was surprisingly not picked in the original 22 despite scoring a fifty in the low-scoring two-day trial, will now get another chance to stake a claim for a place in the City side after being among those added for the one-day trial.
Chanderpaul Hemraj, Stephon Singh and left-arm spinner Trevon France have also been included for the one-day trail, which Georgetown youth selector Roddy Lovell hopes will give the selectors a chance to see the youths perform in a limited overs scenario which has different regulations and requires a different approach from the two-innings version.
Fast bowlers Seon Daniels and Andre Stoll are the only players in the squad with National under-19 experience while Demerara under-19 leg-spinner Amir Khan is expected to lead the spin attack with support from left-arm spinner Raj Nanan, who got a hat-trick in last year’s Inter Association competition.
Devers will be hoping for an improved showing on Saturday after a lay off due to studies and former Guyana under-15 Captain Shaquille Williams is one of the main contenders for the specialist off-spinner spot.
Raphael Singh and Christopher Surat had 3-wicket hauls in the two-day trail and are also eying as place in the team as off-spinners while specialist batsmen Shameer Fazal and Dillon Fernandes can also bowl useful off-spin.
Out of form National under-17 Captain Dexter Solomon could be challenged for his place behind the stumps by Sarfraz Esau whose batting and Keeping is rapidly improving.
Clevon Hyman is also vying for the Keeping spot and it will not be surprising if Esau makes the final team as a specialist batsman with Solomon doing duties as Keeper. Omesh Dhanram is a useful leg-spinner who could bat but Khan’s presence could make it difficult for him to play while Nanan, Khan, Daniels and Stoll should be automatic picks in the bowling line-up.
If the Georgetown coaches have enough time to work on the mental aspects of the batsmen, especially their shot-selection and running between the wickets, the natural talent in the squad gives Georgetown a potentially powerful batting line-up.
The biggest headache for the selectors will be deciding which batsmen to leave out since Quincy Ovid Richardson, Fazal, Mohan Ramdeen, Kwame Crosse, Dayanand Roopnarine, Dillon Fernandes, Alex Ramalho, Hemraj, Surat all have the potential to contribute significantly with the bat.
Pacers Stephon Sampson, Neil Barry Junior, and Kevin Ogle will be competing for places on the support staff to Stoll and Daniels, while Crosse’s ability to bowl medium pace could work in his favour although he seems more comfortable batting in the longer version of the game.
The 26-man squad read: Quincy Ovid Richardson, Shameer Fazal, Mohan Ramdeen, Alex Ramalho, Clevon Hyman, Kwame Crosse, Dayanand Roopnarine, Safraz Esau, Dexter Solomon, Shaquille Williams, Dillon Fernandes, Amir Khan, Raj Nanan, Andre Stoll, Seon Daniels, Omesh Dhanram, Neil Barry jnr., Kevin Ogle, Dino Chow-Wee-Nam, Christopher Surat, Raphael Singh and Stephon Sampson, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Carlos Larose, Ricardo Devers Jaron Bryon, Stephon Singh, Trevon France.

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