Latest update February 21st, 2025 12:47 PM
Latest News
- Judiciary to launch its first ever flag at Mabaruma
- Jagdeo lauds Suriname for allowing citizens to invest in first oil project
- `Completion of Wales gas plants further delayed to 2026
- Terrence Campbell goes to court over Govt’s spending of oil money
- Woman throws away purse instead of giving to bandits
Guyana hunt 13th three-day title as Regional U-19 cricket begins here today
By Sean Devers
The 2011 Regional under-19 three-day cricket tournament commences today in Guyana with three matches and host Guyana, the competition’s most successful team, hunt their 13th title since their first in 1974.
Kwame Crosse
Amir Khan
Ronsford Beaton
Although Guyana won the first ever Regional youth tournament in 1968 in Barbados, that was an under-21 series, while the next year when Trinidad and Tobago emerged victorious the teams were under-20s.
It was not until 1970 that an under-19 series was organized in Guyana and T&T took the title. After rain ruined the 1998 series in Trinidad the first Regional One-Day under-19 competition was arranged to allow the players a chance to play some cricket.
Today Guyana who has never won a One-Day title, and last won a three-day championship in 2007 when they successfully defended their title in St Kitts under the captaincy of Steven Jacobs, oppose the Leeward Islands at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence.
Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica square off at Everest and the Windwards Islands, whose only other title was won in 2000 in Guyana, face-off with Barbados at DCC in Queenstown in the other two first round games today.
Guyana hold the record of six consecutive titles from 1992 in Guyana with new National youth selector Andre Percival leading the Guyanese to three consecutive tittles from 1992-’94.
Guyana won under Mahendra Nagamootoo in 1995 when appointed Captain Nicholas De Groot broke his finger on the first day of the competition in Grenada.
Nagamootoo’s brother Vishal captained Guyana to success in 1996, while Ramnaresh Sarwan was the Skipper when Guyana won in 1997 on home soil.
Timor Mohamed had become the first Captain to win three consecutive titles when Guyana took Championship honours in 1974, 1975 & 1976.
This is the 13th time Guyana is hosting the competition since 1970 and the first time since 2006 when Guyana finished as Champions. Guyana has won the title on home soil six times (1970, 1976, 1985, 1992, 1997 & 2006) and First-Class fast bowler Ronsford Beaton will be aiming to lead Guyana to championship honours.
Amir Khan is the other First-Class player in the Guyana team, while along with Beaton and Khan, Kwame Crosse, who toured Dubai this year with the Regional under-19 team, is the other West Indies youth player in the home side.
While Crosse was Guyana’s leading scorer last year in St Lucia, no Guyanese managed a century in the rain-hit tournament.
On what is anticipated to be slow pitches, a Guyanese batsman would be keen to register a century after Berbician Gopie Beasmonie scored 101 in 1970 at the McKenzie Sports Club ground in Linden to become the first Guyanese to score a Regional under-19 century.
Barbados, who last won in 2008 at home, has nine titles while defending One-Day champions Trinidad & Tobago who have not tasted Championship glory since winning the ‘double’ in St Vincent in 2005, have seven titles.
The Jamaicans will be hunting their ninth title and first overseas since 1994, having been dethroned of the titles won at home in 2009, while Leeward Islands who last won in Guyana in 2001, have three titles.
The Windward Islands, who united with the Leewards before the early 1980s as the Combined Islands, have two titles.
Each team will play five matches in a round-robin format and the team with the most points will be declared the three-day winners before the 50-over competition commences on August 9.
Today’s matches are scheduled to begin at 10:00hrs and admission is free to all of the games.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
A flawed interpretation of international law
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News – The assertion that “under international law, Venezuela is responsible for... more
CARICOM Nations Should Respond Together To new U.S. Policies
By Sir Ronald Sanders Ambassador to the US and the OAS, Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News-Two Executive Orders issued by U.S.... more
Weekend Cartoon
