GCB’s El Dorado 50-over final…Chanderpaul is Berbice’s biggest threat

Sep 25, 2011 Sports

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Capacity crowd expected at Albion today

On a slow track which should offer assistance to the spinners, Test left-hander Shivnarine Chanderpaul could be Berbice biggest threat today at Albion as they put their Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) 50-over cricket title on the line against arch rivals Demerara in the final from 09:00hrs.
Apart from the 37-year-old Chanderpaul, who scored a magnificent unbeaten 95 in the last round at Bourda, dashing Demerara Skipper Leon Johnson has been in great recent form while openers Trevon Griffith and Shemroy Barrington have given their team solid foundations in every game so far.
The pint-size Vishaul Singh is very useful in the middle order, while with two first ball ducks in the competition, Gajanand Singh, the former Berbice and West Indies under-19 left-hander will be keen to rebound with a big score today to show why he is regarded as one of the most naturally talented batsmen in the country while off-spinner Zaheer Mohamed can also bat.
The outfield, although no longer billiards table smooth, should be fast and if the Demerara batsmen get stuck in, what is expected to be a capacity partisan crowd could be in for entertaining stroke-play form the visitors.
Teenage former West Indies youth pacer Keon Joseph is lively and will hope to do early damage with the new ball, while although Michael Newland is a very impressive bowler at this level, the defending champions might again consider opening the bowling with spin to take pace off the ball since both Barrington and Griffith enjoys the ball ‘coming onto’ the bat.
The Guyana squad for next month Regional 50-over competition will be announced tomorrow and today is the last chance for the fringe players to force their way into the national side, giving the game added significance.
Another good partnership from Griffith and Barrington could result in them both making their regional one-day debuts next month but they will both know that today building on a good start is important from a team and individual perspective.
Latcha is a very decent off-spinner while Royston Crandon and Narsingh Deonarine could also be used since in Griffith, Johnson, Chanderpaul and the pair of unrelated Singhs, Demerara have five left-handers in their top order.
Left-arm spinner Eugene LaFleur is tied with Steven Jacobs (6) with the most wickets in the competition but with so many left-handers in the lineup, including the dangerous Chanderpaul, he could expect plenty of sweeps played against him today. Fudadin’s medium pace could also play a role today.
Demerara are without Ramnaresh Sarwan due to injured and the West Indies t20 pair of Derwin Christian and Chris Barnwell, while Berbice will miss the service of their three top bowlers in Test pacer Brandon Bess and spinners Devendra Bishoo and Veerasammy Permaul but their team is still a very strong one.
Like in the past Berbice have lost to Demerara in the preliminary round stage before winning when it mattered most in the final and in front of their home crowd they are well equipped to retain their title especially if Chanderpaul goes early.
Dashing opener Richard Ramdeen will want a good performance to try and regain his place in the Guyana side which he gave up to support his board’s boycott of the trials to pick the t20 team which played T&T recently at Bourda and he could be under plenty of pressure mentally today, especially if Demerara bat first and Griffith and Barrington get good scores.
Fudadin has decided to become an opener and although he is one of the top batmen in the country, that
decision could back-fire when the selectors sit to pick the Guyana one-day team unless he gets a big score today.     Deonarine is among the most classy batsmen produced by Guyana but the mental and physical aspects of his cricket have contributed to him not playing more for the West Indies and on a ground where he scored one of the best ever hundreds in regional one-day cricket two years ago against Barbados, the gifted left-hander could be the key to Berbice getting a big score today. Crandon and Johnathan Foo are very dangerous, especially in the power-play overs and Demerara will hope that they don’t spend too much time at the crease, while Devon Clements and LaFleur can also contribute with the bat for the home team.
Left-arm pacer Andre Stoll and Paul Wintz could share the new ball for Demerara while medium pacer Kellon Carmichael is one of the hardest working cricketers locally.
But the work of Mohamed (who has the second most wickets in the competition) and left-arm unorthodox spinner Totaram Bishun could provide the most problems for the Berbicians as they look to accelerate in the ‘middle overs’ and if everyone pulls their weight an intriguing match is anticipated.
Music and a well stocked bar will provide added entertainment for the fans today and although Chanderpaul’s presence could be critical to the outcome of this match, predicting a win is too close to call.
Both teams practiced in Berbice yesterday and the Umpires today are Colin Alfred and Nigel Duguid. Gates open at 08:00 and admission is free.

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