Defending champions Berbice will be hard-pressed to retain their Guyana Cricket Board Inter-County Twenty20 title when the competition commences today at the National Stadium at Providence ground.
All three counties are expected to be in action today. The counties have already named strong sides with Trevon Garraway, Esaun Crandon and Travis Dowlin appointed skippers of the Essequibo, Berbice and Demerara sides respectively.
Crandon, who was a member of the victorious Guyana team which won the inaugural Stanford Twenty20 competition last year, will have team-mates, regional record-holder Mahendra Nagamootoo and the hard-hitting, middle-order batsman Imran Khan by his side.
Also selected are Sewnarine Chattergoon, who has played three one-day Internationals for the West Indies, Royston Crandon, Assad Fudadin and former national captain Damodar Daesrath. Former West Indies Under-19 cricketer, Gajanand Singh, Homchand Pooran and Bermine’s exciting opening batsman Maxie De Jonge are also included along with the exciting fast bowlers Jeremy Gordon and Brandon Bess.
Notable absentee is former national under-19 captain Andre Percival, who again did not find favour with the selectors.
Another young exciting batting all rounder Paul Wintz can consider himself unlucky not to be included in the final 14 but got some consolation as he was named as one of six standbys along with national under -17 wicket keeper batsman Anthony Bramble.
The 14-man squad reads: Esaun Crandon, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Royston Crandon, Imran Khan, Maxie De Jonge, Gajanand Singh, Assad Fudadin, Homchand Pooran, Damodar Daesrath, Shastri Persaud, Mahendra Nagamootoo, Imran Jafferally, Brandon Bess and Jeremy Gordon. David Black (manager) and Adrian Amsterdam (coach).
Dowlin, who was outstanding in the inagural Stanford Twenty20 competition, will have five other of his teammates from that squad alongside him.
Once again, however, the selectors have chopped and changed the squad with Everest wicket keeper/batsman Joseph Perry replacing DCC’s Derwin Christian.
Neil Mc Garrell, who was over looked for the recent four-day Inter-County championship along with Lennox Cush who was unavailable have both been recalled, but there is still no place in the 13-man squad for former national and West Indies fast bowler Reon King.
Kelon Carmichael, Travis Blyden (who scored the first century in the GCB Inter Club 20/20 competition) and Sauid Drepaul were also overlooked by the selectors.
There is one new face in the squad, that of Everest Cricket Club’s Troy Gonsalves with Orin Forde, who led Demerara to victory in the El Dorado limited overs competition last year, finding favour with the selectors.
The 13-man squad reads: Travis Dowlin (captain), Lennox Cush, Krishna Deosarran, Leon Johnson, Dion Ferrier, Chris Barnwell, Joseph Perry, Zaheer Mohammed, Neil Mc Garrell, Troy Gonsalves, Orin Forde, Shemroy Barrington and Rayon Griffith. Manager Robert Adonis and Coach Orin Bailey.
