The Under-19 50-over competition to select the team that will represent Demerara in the inter-county competition was officially launched yesterday and will bowl off Monday with two matches.

This competition is  co-sponsored by German’s Restaurant and W&H Rambarran Marine to the tune of $225,000 each.

The round-robin competition will see East Coast Demerara, East Bank Demerara, West Bank Demerara and Georgetown in a battle to  decide the inter-zone champion for Demerara.

On Monday, East Coast will tackle East Bank at Lusignan while West Demerara goes up against Georgetown at Everest, weather permitting.

Meanwhile President of the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) Bissoondial Singh was full of praise for the sponsors. Singh stated that under-19 is a very important stage in the development of cricketers acting as a step from the youth level to senior cricket.

Citing Ramnaresh Sarwan as an example, the DCB president contended that if sponsorship is not secured for this level of cricket it will be a negative step.  Singh announced that following the round-robin competition a final will be played.

He expressed hope that the players selected can showcase their talent so the DCB selectors on hand would not have a difficult time in deciding on their inter-county team.

Secretary of the DCB Competitions Committee Samaroo Jailal added that the competition will see six matches being played over three consecutive days.

Jailal said that April 9 and 10 have been earmarked tentatively for the final but this will be decided by the weather.  In addition any rainfall during the round-robin stage would  have an influence on the final. After the final is completed the Demerara selectors would  call up a set of players who will represent the county in their first match against an Essequibo team on April 16.

Meanwhile General Manager of German’s Restaurant Clinton Urling Jr. said that he was pleased to be associated with this cricket sponsorship in order to give back to the community at large. One of the main reasons for him getting into sponsorship, he noted,  was that the DCB has a history of accountability and professionalism and this is something he stands for.

W&H Rambarran Marine representative Bharatt Singh said that his company has always been involved in sports and their entry into U-19 cricket was a significant step for them.

Meanwhile, preparations for the matches by the respective teams are going well as West Demerara Cricket Association President Anand Sanasie said that players there are taking part in trials. East Coast Cricket Board President Bissoondial Singh said that there is an ongoing competition to select their team. Singh also noted that the Georgetown Cricket Association has trials ongoing while the East Bank Cricket Association is pursuing a similar exercise.