After losing the second of two first-round matches to defending champions Demerara, host Essequibo should be looking to redeem themselves today when they meet Berbice in the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB)/Castrol-sponsored Inter-County Under-15 tournament at the Anna Regina Community Centre ground today.

In their two matches against Demerara, the first was washed out without a ball being bowled while Essequibo lost the second by five wickets and with eight balls to spare  in a rain-reduced encounter.

The Berbice team can be considered the strongest team in the tournament and Essequibo, who are the perennial whipping boys at all levels of cricket in Guyana, will face an uphill task.

Skipper Ricardo Adams will hope that the batsmen, led by Ahmad Khan and Vijai Suratpaul and including the hard-hitting Zameer Zaman, can come good.

Jamal Jarvis will spearhead the bowling attack of the former champions with support expected from   Gudakesh Motie, skipper Shawn Pereira and Jamal Henry.

Veerapen Permaul, Lloydel Lewis, Rajendra Dasrat and Kevin Ramdeen will shoulder the batting for Berbice.

The two team will meet again tomorrow at the same venue from 10am.

Teams (Essequibo from): Ricardo Adams, Fizul Khan, Vijai Suratpaul, Mark Tyrell, Henry Greene, Fabian Durant, Herman Kowshand, Zameer Zaman, Ahmad Khan, Quincy Jones, Mark Gonsalves, Ravindra Persaud, Javed Azeez and Mohammed Razack.

Berbice (from): Shawn Pereira, Veerapen Permaul, Lloydel Lewis, Jamal Jarvis, Trevon Thomas, Videsh Lall, Linden Austin, Kevin Ramdeen, Rajindra Dasrat, Bisham Deolall, Gudakesh Motie, Jamal Henry, Devendra Janaibi and Shalendra Shameer.