Guyana, T&T ‘grudge’ match confirmed for Providence

Aug 18, 2010 Sports

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Trinidadians gets to ‘back up talk’ on Aug 28 & 29

By Sean Devers
Almost an entire nation took it for granted that defending Regional 20/20 champions and losing 2009 Champions League finalist Trinidad and Tobago would once again waltz into next month’s Airtel Champions League in South Africa to represent the entire West Indies.
The T&T team knew that if their semi-final match against Guyana was washed out they would advance to the final by virtue of topping their zone and they almost reluctantly appeared on the field when the contest finally got going in murky conditions on a damp ground.
A song, written for T&T’s expected campaign in South Africa by Chris Garcia of Chutney Bacchanal fame, was already being blared in the Trini Posse stand and the hyped up crowd of close to 20,000 were having a ball in true Trini Carnival style.
Even when Dwayne Bravo’s impetuous drive was taken at long-off off the last ball of the penultimate over leaving 10 to get from the last over bowled by Royston Crandon, the patrician crowd was dancing in the stands.
After all, for the screaming Trinis in the crowd, this was the best team in regional 20/20 cricket and they had the right to once again represent the Caribbean after their wonderful showing in India last year. This was the team with the most astute leader among West Indian cricketing countries and this was the team that would win the inaugural Caribbean 20/20 championships to qualify for South Africa.
Crandon, used to bowl the final over after Lennox Cush (the final over specialist) had to bowl the penultimate one after Bravo smashed 27 off Chris Barnwell in the 3rd to last over, took three wickets in the pulsating final over to stun the sell-out crowd and send the Guyanese supporters, especially those listening in Guyana to the spine-tingling finish on Radio, wild with delight.
Guyana had won by 4-runs and were into the final against Barbados. My self and Colin Croft were on the air carrying the CMC Cricket-plus radio commentary for those final overs and re-living that final over even now brings goose-bumps to my skin.
Its history now that Guyana, led by the heroics of their youngest member, 19-year-old Jonathon Foo, beat Barbados in the final in an even more sensational finish to qualify for South Africa.
The atmosphere outside the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain after T&T’s semi-final loss in the wee hours of Saturday morning on July 31 resembled a nation in mourning and emphasized the confidence Trinis had in their team and the passion they had for the game.
“How could the best team in the Caribbean not advance to the final and win the whole thing as they did last year”? The shell-shocked home fans asked.
Well the answer is simple. They had to face Guyana, the only team that has ever beaten them in 20/20 cricket in the semis and once again despite all the hype of the T&T brand of play in the game’s shortest version, they just could not find a way to beat Guyana.
On emotions and sentiments and even a quick look at the T&T line-up, people would be quick to say they are the best 20/20 side in the region but the fact is that the record prove Guyana is the most successful and fully deserving of going to South Africa.
With just one loss (to Jamaica in the 2008 semis) in 11 matches and two titles and three tournaments, Guyana is the most successful 20/20 team in regional cricket while T&T only two defeats are against Guyana.
It was Guyana who in the inaugural Stanford 20/20 competition in 2006 in Antigua, who beat T&T in the final when Narsingh Deonarine’s final-over six off Samuel Badree gave Guyana the title, the US$1million first prize and unified a nation in its election year.
Guyana has never lost a completed 20/20 game to T&T at any level and their win in the WIPA Haiti fund-raiser in Trinidad earlier this year when Rajendra Chandrika propelled the South Americans to victory should have sent a warning to the nationalist Trinbagons not to count their chickens before they were hatched in the Caribbean 20/20 semis.
Guyana has a 3-nill record in completed 20/20 matches against T&T and their only loss was in a rain ruined encounter in December of 2007 at the Guyana National Stadium when T&T won by 8-runs on the Duckworth/Lewis system.
Then, Kieron Pollard smashed an explosive unbeaten 40 in the Cheddi Jagan Memorial Cup 20/20 after bad light aborted the game in the middle of T&T’s run chase
Guyana made 136-9 off their 20 overs and T&T had reached 71 for four after nine overs when the game was aborted.
That match was organised as part of the Guyana Government’s celebration of the 60th anniversary of the parliamentary debut by Dr Jagan, who died in 1997 while serving as Guyana’s fourth President and had the rain not intervened Guyana’s 20/20 record against T&T might have still been 100% today.
Many Trinis are hurt that Guyana is going to South Africa and even respected journalist Andre Baptiste was compelled to write-off Guyana as an inferior team to T&T in an article which lacked journalist impartiality and oozed emotional patriotism.
Despite the record between the two sides Dwayne Bravo still claims T&T are the best 20/20 team in the business. The Daren Ganga led T&T unit has been given yet another chance to prove the action speak louder than words and two riveting contests are anticipated under lights at Providence on Saturday August 28 & 29.
The Guyana Cricket Board yesterday confirmed that T&T will be here to try and back up their talk as Guyana continue to prepare for South Africa where they will play four matches before the semi-final stage of the world’s most lucrative club cricket tournament.
This game should be a big test mentally for the Ramnaresh Sarwan-led Guyanese squad and a ram-packed Stadium is expected to urge the local team on in their farewell matches before they depart for their toughest cricketing assignment.
The GCB confirmed that Digicel will play a major role in the two games and that plans are in place to have another match played before the Guyana/T&T game each day. Tickets will cost just $1,000 and popular Entertainment Events Promoter DJ Stress has been brought on board by the GCB to help promote the matches.
It was also disclosed that a decision will be made by this week regarding two sponsors who have shown an interest in branding the Guyanese in South Africa and that the team is encamped at the Princess Hotel until their departure.
“We will spend about $15millon to prepare this team for South Africa since we understand the importance of their participation in lifting Guyana’s cricket and marketing Guyana as a country to billions of viewers around the world. We have had some unwanted distractions and now we want to focus fully on giving the team the best possible chance at success in South Africa,” a senior GCB official said yesterday.
All Guyana is on the Waka, Waka Guyana in South Africa train and fans are being encouraged to wear the national colours of green or gold as they pack the Stadium on August 28 & 29 to see if the big talking Trinis can finally get past Guyana in a fully completed 20/20 contest.

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Wharwood stars as T&T beat Guyana by 8 wkts in U-17 fixture

Stephon Wharwood grabbed three wickets (hat-trick) and hit a fine unbeaten half century as the touring Trinidad and Tobago U-17 cricket team defeated their Guyanese counterparts by 8 wickets in a forty over affair played on Monday at the Wakenaam Community Centre ground in good Success.
Trinidad and Tobago won the toss and inserted Guyana to bat first in front of a fair size crowd.
Openers Brian Sattar and Christopher Suerat got them off to a bright start by posting 49 for the opening stand before Suerat who made 21 (3×4) was removed by Anthony Simmons.  Chanderpaul Hemraj was then caught by Simmons off Adrian Cooper for 3 before Sunil Roopie was run out as the home team slipped to 54-3.
It then became 54-4 when Sattar was bowled by Simmons for 18 (1×4).  Skipper Shaquille Williams and Shawn Perreira joined forces and took the score to 89 before Williams was caught off Adrian Daniels for 10.  National U-19 player Ricardo Adams then joined Perriera and posted 33 for the 6th wicket partnership taking the score to 121 in the process.
The left handed Adams was next to go, caught off Sheon Byrne for a top score of 23 which included three sixes.  The Guyanese then lost their last four wickets without any addition to the score as they were bowled out in 23.3 overs.
Perreira was the next best scorer with 20 (1×4).  Leg Spinner Wharwood grabbed 3-7 off 1.3 overs while Cooper, Simmons and Byrne ended with two wickets each.
Trinidad and Tobago began their reply in fine fashion with Chris Mohamed and Wharwood posting 36 for the 1st wicket before Mohamed was caught off left arm spinner Herry Green for 12.  Inshan Rajah then joined Wharwood and took the score to 111 with solid batting.  Rajah was then leg before to Shaquille Williams for 33 (2×6).  That was the last success for the Guyanese as Woodwood who ended unbeaten on 52 which contained three sixes and Cooper (1 n.o) saw them to victory in 27.4 overs.
(Scores Guyana 121-9 in 23.3 overs (R. Adams 23, S. Parrira 20, Wharwood 3-7, T&T 123 for 2 in 27.4 overs, Wharwood 52, Rajah 33).
According to the manager of the Guyana team Elroy Stepheney both teams were scheduled to play in a 2 – day game at Bourda which was expected to start on Tuesday (yesterday) and finished on Wednesday (Today) but rain prevented any action.  Trinidad and Tobago depart Guyana on the 19th. (Zaheer Mohamed)

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