Kaieteur News article.

Georgetown, Guyana - Led by an unbeaten century from Yougeshwar Lall, Imam Bacchus SC defeated Bush Lot by 93 runs when play in the Central Essequibo T20 competition continued recently on the Essequibo Coast.

Lall stroked eighteen fours and three sixes in a top score of 118 and got valuable support from Latchman Rohit 50 not out (1×4,5×6) as Imam Bacchus posted a respectable 240-3, batting first after winning the toss at Affiance ground.

Nathan Persaud chipped in with 30 (6×4) while Extras contributed 29.  Romario Dindayal claimed 3- 50. In reply, Bush Lot were bowled out for 147 in 18.4 overs with Javier McDonald scoring 44 (5×4,2×6), T. Bennon 25 (5×4) and Delmonte Bholo 20 (2×6). Bowling for Imam Bacchus, Navendra Persaud snared 3-30, Zaman Ally 2-25 and Lall 1-20.

Earlier at the said venue, Affiance overcame Cotton Field by eight wickets. Cotton Field were sent packing for 111 in 15 overs after they were inserted. K. Khan and N. Khan made 20 each, both hitting three fours and one six while K. Persaud made 19 (2×4,1×6). Ganesh Mangal captured 3 – 10, Kumar Kissoon 3 – 15 and Dharmendra Boodnie 2 – 15.

Affiance responded with 112-2 in 13.2 overs. Kumar Kissoon smashed 39(6×4, 2×6), Sanjay Rajkumar cracked 25 (4×4) and Mangal 13 not out (1×4,1×6).  K. Persaud picked up 2 – 45 and Travis Simon 1 – 25.

First Published By Kaieteur News.

Trinidad & Tobago Newsday article.

Port of Spain, Trinidad - Former Guyana and West Indies captain Ramnaresh Sarwan has expressed excitement after being drafted by Trinidad and Tobago Red Force at the inaugural West Indies Cricket Board Professional Cricket League Draft Ceremony at Accra Beach Hotel, Barbados yesterday morning.

Sarwan will be wearing the Red Force colours for the very first time at the WICB Regional Four Day Tournament which bowls off on November 4th. 

The Guyanese batsman, during an interview on the Sportsmax Zone yesterday, said he was delighted to be reunited with former coach Gus Logie, now in charge of the Red Force. 

“I’m pretty excited, it’s a great opportunity,” Sarwan stated. 

“I have always been well received in Trinidad, so representing Trinidad is a great privilege and honour. To have Gus Logie as the coach, who has coached me since I was fifteen, I know I would be very comfortable and I’m excited to be a part of team,” the right-hander continued. 

He went on to speculate that the reason he was overlooked by Guyana at yesterday’s draft was because of ill-feeling towards him by a certain Guyanese official. 

“I knew they were not going to pick me because there is a lot of feud. There is one individual who doesn’t really like me. Obviously I knew that was going to happen, I was prepared for it so it wasn’t a situation where I was surprised or anything like that,” he explained. 

The 34-year-old said his main goal is to be healthy and fit and score big hundreds to get back in contention for the West Indies team. 

“My main objective is to try and get myself fit to try and play in the 2015 World Cup,” he exclaimed. “The key for me is to try and get myself ready for the regional tournaments and I’ll make a very big statement there and then we would go from there.” 

Sarwan acknowledged that with his experience, he will have to play a mentorship role to some of TT’s young batsmen and is looking forward to the role. 

TT play their first game on November 11th against Barbados Franchise at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port-of-Spain.

First Published In The Trinidad & Tobago Newsday.

Guyana Chronicle article.

Georgetown, Guyana - Bishal Mohammed took a hat-trick for Dora who whipped hosts Christianburg when the two teams clashed in the opening game of the Upper Demerara Cricket Association’s (UDCA) Andrew Forsythe/Spence T20 cricket competition last Saturday at the Christianburg Community Centre ground.

Put in to bat first, Christianburg were bowled out for 93 off 14.3 overs with Extras top-scoring with 30, Ricardo Anderson struck 25 and Ronald Anderson 18, as Mohammed took 5 for 15 off four overs which included the hat-trick.

In reply Dora scored 94 for four off 12.3 overs with Lawrence Rampersaud knocking up 55 and Lloyd Roberts 27, as Terrence Fiedtkou took 3 for 21 from 3 overs for Christianburg.

The following day and at the same venue, West Watooka defeated BOSAI by four wickets. BOSAI batting first were bowled out for 79 off 12 overs. Wayne Bethune was the top scorer for BOSAI with 13 as Adrian Stewart, Michael Austin and Chris Spencer each took two wickets.

Replying West Watooka made 80 for six off 12.4 overs as Clayton Vanhersel with 28 and Leon Prince 24 were the top scorers, even as Marlon English took 3 for 1, bowling for BOSAI.

In Group B action on Sunday at the Maria Elizabeth ground Young Achievers won the toss and put Muritaro Young Warriors in to bat. They made 218 for 6 off their allotted 20 overs as Denzil Peters hit 70, Nick Estwick 45 and Annan Chattergoon 38 for the Warriors.

Kishan Jones with 2 for 29 was the best bowler for the Young Achievers who in reply were skittled out for 112 in 17 overs as Shurland Peters got 32 and Joel Jones 18. Muritaro’s Delon Jones took 3 for 26 and Nick Estwick 3 for 30.

In the other game at the same venue Coomacka Exodus defeated Royal Champions as the Coomacka side, put in to bat, made 133 all out in 14 overs.

Extras accounted for the top score with 38 Andrew Richmond made 18 and Joshua Ettienne, Keith Simmons and Kurstan Thom each mustered 11.

For the Royal Champions John De Agrella had the best bowling returns taking 3 for 18 from 3 overs as the Royal Champions could manage only 51 all out off 12 overs. Apart from the extras accounting for 16 of the runs, no player was able to get into double-figure score. The Coomacka Exodus’ best bowling performance was recorded by Joshua Ettienne with 4 for 11 off 3 overs, as Ateba Edmonds grabbed 3 for 10 from 3 overs and Kurstan Thom 2 for 9 from 3 overs.

The competition will continue over the weekend with five more games.

In Group A action BOSAI take on Dora Saturday from 11:00hrs and on Sunday Uprising Young Stars meet Amelia’s Ward at the Christianburg ground.

In Group B Young Achievers will clash with Coomacka at 09:30hrs and Royal Champions face Muritaro Young Warriors at 13:30hrs at the Maria Elizabeth ground.

First Published In The Guyana Chronicle.

Guyana Chronicle article.

Georgetown, Guyana - Led by a fine all-round performance by Shaheed Mohamed, hosts Everest Masters defeated the Guyana Media XI by 35 runs in a T20 match played last Monday at the Camp Road-based Everest Cricket Club ground. 

Mohamed slammed six fours and two sixes to guide Everest Masters to 131-8 off their allotted overs, after they won the toss and opted to bat first, before returning with the ball to grab 5-11 as the Media XI were sent packing for 96 off 18 overs in reply.

Mohamed shared in a third-wicket stand of 32 with Hemraj Garbarran to steady their innings after they were reduced to 9-2 on a difficult pitch in hazy conditions. Garbarran counted two fours and one six in scoring 30 while Ronald Jaisingh chipped in with 15.

Pacer Jermaine Neblett was the pick of the bowlers with 3-13 from four overs while Ravi Persaud claimed 2-18 and Ishaka Jackman 2-33 for the Media XI, who despite losing the early wicket of Ravi Persaud 11 (2×4), threatened their opponents’ target until the introduction of Mohammed.

The Media XI lost wickets at regular intervals in their chase and Jackman, who added 26 for the eighth wicket with Keon Blades, cracked three fours in a top score of 32 while Blades scored 16 (1×4), Neblett made 12 (1×6) in support to Persaud 11 (2×4). Jaisingh supported Mohamed with 2-21 while Johnny Azeez took 1-23.

At the presentation ceremony which followed, Mohamed was given the Man-of-the-Match award while Everest received a trophy and the club was presented with $100 000 cheque by Truck Masters for their 100th anniversary.

First Published In The Guyana Chronicle.

Guyana Times article.

Georgetown, Guyana - D’Edward are the 2014 Hand-In-Hand Second Division 40-over champions of West Berbice after beating Hopetown United in the final of the competition on Monday at Cotton Tree.

It was the second final of a competition organized by the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) in three days and on both occasions the team batting first failed to s a challenging score.

On Monday Hopetown winning the toss and choosing to bat were dismissed for 91 in 18.4 overs with only four of their batsmen being able to reach double figures.

Christian France was the main destroyer taking 5 for 32 off of 8 overs. He received good support from Navin Rampersaud with 2 for 44 off 8 and Devindra Singh who bowled two overs for 10 runs and picked up two wickets.

Kwesi Mentor top scored for Hopetown with 17 (2x4s) and Kenje Sedoc 11. After finding themselves at 59-7 A. McKenzie and C. Saul came together and saved total embarrassment with some enterprising hitting. Saul smashing 3 fours in his 12 while McKenzie sent the ball over the boundary board twice in also making 12.

Set 92 for victory D’Edward reached the target in 14.1 overs with Jaipaul Heeralall unbeaten on 50 (9x4s) after smashing the ball to all parts of the ground. Nicholas Persaud was unbeaten on 16 (3x4s) when victory came.

At the end of the game BCB Treasurer Anil Beharry congratulated both teams and urged them to continue uplifting the standard of cricket in West Berbice. He noted that the competition was played at a very competitive level.

Beharry however sent a bouncer at the West Berbice Cricket Association which he said had just been standing at the wicket and not doing anything for the development of cricket. “It is with concern that the Berbice Cricket Board decided to organize this competition because we realized that the Association had not been doing anything for cricket.”

Beharry urged cricket lovers and organizers in West Berbice to do whatever it takes to ensure that the Association works in the best interest of the development of the game.

First Published In The Guyana Times.

Guyana Chronicle article.

Georgetown, Guyana - Cricket action in this year’s Berbice Cricket Board/Carib Beer-sponsored T20 first division competition continued recently with D’Edward opening batsman Lakeraj Sookra blasting 85 to steer his team to a relatively easy win over Blairmont Community Centre.

The win ensured D’Edward a place in the last six playoffs of the competition, having won both of their Zone ‘A’ (West Berbice) preliminary matches so far, with only one left to play.

Sookra’s knock which included 10 fours and six sixes is the highest individual score in the competition so far, eclipsing the 83 made by his team mate Eon Abel against Bush Lot Rising Star the previous weekend and made it easy for his team to overtake the fairly challenging 142 for 4 made by Blairmont with 4.1 overs to spare.

West Berbice became the other team from that Zone to be assured of a place in the playoff after they beat Bush Lot Rising Star for their second consecutive victory.

In Zone B (Canje, New Amsterdam, East Bank) Young Warriors also registered their second victory but would have to await the outcome of the third preliminary round to know if they would go forward.

Spearheading them to their win was off-spinner Linden Austin who took 3 for 4 to restrict Police to 102 for 9 in 20 overs, before national opener Shimron Hetmyer blasted an unbeaten 54 (31 balls 5×4, 1×6), which, together with his elder brother Seon Hetmyer’s unbeaten 36, posted 103 in 12.4 overs for Young Warriors to give them an easy nine-wicket victory.

After seeing national Under-19 fast bowler Nial Smith take 3 for 15 to help Universal Solutions Bermine restrict Edinburgh to 111 for 6 in 20 overs, former Guyana Under-15 batsman Leon Williams steered Bermine to an eight-wicket victory with his unbeaten 57 (10×4), receiving support from Essequibo’s Kevon Boodie who made 31.

Skeldon Community Centre also registered an eight-wicket victory over GuyTrac Upper Corentyne, who were firstly restricted to 117 for 7 in their 20 overs and then watched as Skeldon, led by 58 (9×4, 1×6) from Trishan Ramdass, reached 118 for 2 in 13.4 overs.

First Published In The Guyana Chronicle.

Guyana Chronicle article.

Georgetown, Guyana - The nation's top softball teams are expected to be on show once again when the second edition of the Rafman Ali 15/15 softball tournament commences on October 26 at various venues on the East Coast of Demerara and in Georgetown. 

Entrance fee is $10 000 per team and the competition will be played in the Open and Over-35 categories with the winners of the open division taking home a trophy and $100 000 and the runners-up a trophy and $50 000.

The winning team in the Over-35 segment will collect a trophy and $50 000 and the second place a trophy and $25 000. Interested teams can contact Rafman Ali on 680-1805 or 654-2233 for more information.

Matches are set for at Parika, Everest Cricket Club, GNIC, Better Hope, Enterprise and Success ground, with Regal Masters and Wolf Warriors ready to defend their Over-35 and Open titles which they won in the first edition.

First Published In The Guyana Chronicle.

Guyana Chronicle article.

Georgetown, Guyana - Hill Foot Vipers won by six runs while Wiruni overcame All Star Conquerors by three runs to be the respective male and female winners when the Linden Softball League’s (LSCL) Inter-Community 12/12 softball cricket competition finals were played last Sunday at the Bayrock Community Centre ground.

The female final was contested first and after winning the toss All Star Conquerors sent Wiruni in to bat. The eventual winners chalked up 115 for 6 off their allotted overs as player-of-the-final Stacey Osborne topscored with 32 and Pamela King supported with 30.

Patricia Tello was the best bowler with 4 for 16 off 3 overs for All Star Conquerors, who in reply could only reach 112 for 6 off their allotted 12 overs as Charlene Isaacs scored 24 and Akilla Castello 16, with Amesha Fredericks taking 2 for 16 for the champions.

In the male final Kairuni won the toss and sent in their opponents Hill Foot Vipers to bat and they scored 121 all out in their allotted 12 overs, as Lamtie Hinds top-scored with 34 runs.

The best bowlers for the Kairuni team were Ricky Raghubeer with 3 for 26 and Hakeem Singh who took 2 for 12, before their team were bowled out for 115 in 11.1 overs, falling short by six runs despite Deon Smith’s even half-century and 16 from Marlene Barrett as Narine Lakenauth took 4 for 22 and Hinds 3 for 26 for Hill Foot Vipers.

The main sponsors for these two tournaments were the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Star Party Rentals, Regal Stationery, Builders Lumber Yard, Regional Democratic Council of Region 10 (Upper Demerara/ Berbice) and Sam’s General Store.

First Published In The Guyana Chronicle.

Guyana Times article.

Georgetown, Guyana - Known for its shrewd management, tactical nous and proven track record of hosting successful tournaments, the Guyana Floodlight Softball Cricket Association (GFSCA) will once again embark on its biggest project of the year when it stages the Guyana Softball Club for the fourth year in succession.

Undoubtedly the country’s most prestigious softball tournament, attracting teams from all corners of Guyana and North America, the highly anticipated event is slated for October 31 to November 2 at several venues across the country.

The Guyana Softball Cup commenced in 2011 and instantly became a hit with players and fans alike, attracting massive crowds and also putting some hard earned cash in the pockets of those who entertain with bat and ball on the field.

This year promises to be even better, as the GFSCA is aiming to surpass the achievements of the previous three years in terms of spectators’ involvement and the handsome rewards at stake for the players.

As was the case in previous editions of the tournament, there will be two categories- one for teams contesting the Men’s Open and the other for the Masters players, aged 45 and over.

The champion team in the Men’s Open is guaranteed a whopping $800,000 first prize and a huge trophy, while the losing finalist will have to settle for $200,000 and a trophy. In the Masters’ division, the winning team will pocket $600,000 with the runner-up assured of $150,000. The Man-of-the-Match in both finals will receive a trophy.

As has been the case in the past, the Most Valuable Player of each category will become the proud owner of a softball bracelet, made of gold and diamond studs, compliments of Steve’s Jewellery.

On the day of the final, there will be lots of hampers and giveaways for spectators. Additionally, two spectators can win return tickets from Survival Travel Agency to the beautiful island of Aruba. All the spectators need to do is retain their half tickets and listen for their numbers to be called over the Public Address system during the final.

Two dozen teams will compete in this year’s event, with 12 from Guyana, seven from New York, three from Florida and two from Canada. During the three-day championship, there will be a total of 36 preliminary games, followed by four semi-finals and two finals.

In an effort to expand the reach of the competition and ensure maximum participation from spectators, the organisers have increased the number of venues this year. Grounds earmarked to host games are Police Sports Club, Everest Cricket Club, Georgetown Cricket Club, Demerara Cricket Club, Ghandi Youth Organisation, Muslim Youth Organisation, Enmore Community Centre and Enterprise Busta Sports Club.

Trophy Stall and New York Better are the defending champions of the Open and Masters categories respectively, while the previous champions were NYSCL New York (Open) and Savage Masters in 2012 and Cotton Field Wild Oats (Open) and Regal Seniors (Masters) in 2011.

According to information emanating from the GFSCA, this year’s tournament has an estimated budget of around $10 million.

“On all three previous Guyana Softball Cups, we managed to clear all expenses and were in the positive. Guyana Softball Cup Four, we are hoping for the same, which is very important for the tournament’s future. With the efforts of our hardworking and dedicated GFSCA members, this tournament will be successful again and is here to stay. Our sponsors- present and past- are the other main reasons for Guyana Softball Cup success and its future,” the GFSCA said in a statement.

It added, “The money, which we made so far; where it is? Just look at the six permanent light towers at the DCC ground. You can see it, plus members had to also dig deep into their own pockets to get it completed. It is 90 percent done and before the start of Guyana Softball Cup Four it will be finished.”

With a few weeks to go before the start of the competition, the GFSCA is working feverishly to tie up the loose ends and deliver another tournament of the highest standard. Given the tremendous success of the past, that shouldn’t be much of a bugbear.

It is now up to the players to give the fans their worth in what is anticipated to be three days of exciting softball action.

First Published In The Guyana Times.

Guyana Times article.

Georgetown, Guyana - Skipper of the Ontario Masters Softball International (OMSI) team Shiv Seeram is very optimistic his team will make a good impression in this year’s Guyana Softball Cup 4.

The side is scheduled to participate for the second successive year when the action gets cracking from October 31 to November 2.

The tournament will again be run under the auspices of the Guyana Floodlights Softball Cricket Association and other teams from New York, Florida, Canada and the host nation are expected to compete in both the Veteran category and Open division.

Seeram, the former Guyana Under-19 batsman who also represented Canada at the senior level, expressed confidence that his side can be the champion since their preparations are progressing nicely.

He made this declaration on Saturday evening when the side held a farewell and fund-raising dinner at the Tropical Restaurant and Bar in Scarborough.

“I [am] highly confident we can do well in Guyana this year; I think last year was just great despite we only won two matches, but I think the guys are better prepared and looking forward to the challenge,” the 51-year-old batsman related.

Seeram is banking heavily on the experienced players to perform and the likes of Sunil Dhaniram, Jaimini Singh and Desmond Chumney are expected to churn out good performances, given the fact they have a wealth of experience on the softball scene.

“Obviously, when you have players like these among others, you have reason to be confident and optimistic; they are good softball players and as I said we can come out good this year,” Seeram mentioned.

Manager of the team, Azeem Khan, also strongly feels the side is capable of dominating because they have got a bunch of quality players to match their skills against the other participating sides.

“I think the players want to do well in Guyana; the exposure will be great again and no doubt we can expect great results as well,” Khan commented.

A former Ontario Masters Cricket League president, Khan is very thankful to those who help making their trip to Guyana possible.

He said Naseer Baksh and Teddy Hussain are two of the many names. Baksh is the assistant Manager/Player now, while Hussain is ‘Ours Own Sports Club’ manager. His team recently won the Ontario Masters League 20-over championship for the third consecutive year.

Meanwhile, Seeram also stated that his elder brother Rabindranauth Seeram will be part of Canada’s line-up as a guest player. Rabindranauth represented Guyana at the First-Class level, while he played for West Indies B team, and coached Guyana in the West Indies Cricket Board senior regional competition.

The full side reads: Shiv Seeram (Captain), Mohan Harihar, Desmond Chumney, Sunil Dhaniram, Jesh Parasnauth, Jaimini Singh, Mark Luke, Naseer Baksh, Mohan Singh, Shivo Rhagunandon, Arjune Harihar, Rabindranauth Seeram, Ricky Persaud, Tony Singh and Eon Abel.

First Published In The Guyana Times.

Guyana Times article.

Georgetown, Guyana - Fast bowler Keon Joseph is determined to cement his place in the national team now that he is likely to get an extended run in the side.

Joseph along with Barbadian all-rounder Raymond Reifer, Guyanese opening batsman Rajendra Chandrika, middle-order batsman Vishaul Singh and fast bowlers Paul Wintz completed the Guyana Franchise for the upcoming West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Professional Cricket League’s (PCL) Regional Four-Day and NAGICO Super50 Tournaments.

The five players were chosen at Monday’s inaugural Player Draft of the West Indies Cricket Board’s Professional Cricket League, staged at Accra Beach Hotel in Barbados.

“It’s pretty exciting to be in the team. I want to cement myself in the Guyana side and play as much cricket for Guyana in all formats.

“My main goal at the moment is to be consistent,”Bramble said during an exclusive interview with Guyana Times Sport on Wednesday.

He added, “I am not getting too far ahead of myself. I want to keep putting in the hard work and I’m looking to cement a place in the team.”

The 22-year-old has been in and out of the national squad in recent years. Since his senior First-class debut on February 26, 2010, he has only managed nine First-Class matches and three List A games after making his debut in that format in 2009.

“It is a critical phase of my career and I am looking to the challenge,” he reckoned.

Joseph was among the additional pool of 15 players provided by the local franchise for the player draft nominees.

Anthony Adams, Ricardo Adams, Robin Bacchus, Kevon Boodie, Royston Crandon, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Steven Jacobs, Raun Johnson, Amir Khan and Zaheer Mohamed were the additional pool of 15 players provided by the local franchise for the player draft nominees were not successful at the player draft.

The Professional First Class Franchise System will be engaged in a professional cricket structure on a day-to-day basis, year round, under a Head Coach and support staff.

All six franchises will be given US$45,000 per month to fund their operations, but will be required to raise revenue as well.

More so, under this new initiative, player will be categories into three levels, A, B and C with the first carrying a price tag of USD $2,500, the second USD $1,700 and third USD $1,250, based on the category the player may fall within.

Joseph, Reifer, Chandrika, Singh and Wintz joined the 10 retrained players: West Indies players Devendra Bishoo, Narsingh Deonarine, Assad Fudadin, Leon Johnson, Veerasammy Permaul and Christopher Barnwell, West Indies A team fast bowler Ronsford Beaton and First-Class players Anthony Bramble, Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Trevon Griffith. The Regional four-day tournament bowls off next month.

First Published In The Guyana Times.

Kaieteur News article.

Georgetown, Guyana - The Georgetown Cricket Umpires and Scorers Association (GCUSA) has released the names of the umpires to officiate in this weekend Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) first and second matches.

In the Hadi’s World City Mall Inc first division two-day tournament, Georgetown Cricket Club will host Transport Sports Club with M. Yosef Yisrael and Deon Feassal in charge, Everest Cricket Club will entertain GNIC with Edward Nicholls and Javed Persaud umpiring, Gandhi Youth Organisation will travel to Demerara Cricket Club with the umpires being Colin Alfred and Ryan Banwarie and Police will journey to Malteenoes SC under the watchful eyes of Hortence Isaacs and Cyril Garnath.

In the Noble House Sea Foods second division two-day, Guyana Defence Force will battle Sophia under the guidance of Clyde Layne and Linden Mathews and Police will host St. Stanislaus with Leyland Liverpool and Joseph Jeffery in charge.

All matches start on Saturday with the first division commencing at 09:30 hrs and the second division at 10:30 hrs.

First Published By Kaieteur News.

Kaieteur News article.

Georgetown, Guyana - Yesterday the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) at Bourda was presented with a piece of hallowed Turf from the square of the Lords Cricket ground in London by England Guyanese born Omesh Mohamed who migrated to the United Kingdom when he was three years old.

According to his father Prem Raghubeer, the 31-year-old Omesh is the Head Curator at Lords and wanted to do something for a club that his grandfather, Deopaul Raghubeer is a life member of.

Carl Hooper and Shiv Chanderpaul are the only batsmen from GCC, who have scored Test centuries at Lords and yesterday the presentation was made to GCC President Lionel Jaikarran by Omesh’s grandfather in the presence of his father.

GCC is the venue for the West Indies’ first ever Test match win against England in 1930 but the venue, which hosted 32 Tests between 1930 and 2005, is no longer used for Test cricket since construction of the National Stadium at Providence.  Omesh is on his third trip to Guyana but was unavoidably absent yesterday.

First Published By Kaieteur News.

Guyana Chronicle article.

Georgetown, Guyana - Beverage distribution giant Ansa McAl Trading yesterday formed an alliance with the Guyana Floodlight Softball Cricket Association (GFSCA), for the hosting of that entity’s fourth annual Guyana Softball Cup tournament which is set for October 31 to November 2. 

Ansa McAl sponsorship comes through their Stag Beer brand and Representative Sean Abel, speaking at a simple ceremony to mark the occasion at the Company’s Beterverwagting (BV) head office, said the tournament is one which brings communities and families together – something Ansa McAl is proud of.

Darshnie Yussuf, Ansa McAl Public Relations Officer, said the tournament encompasses all the values the company strives on and as such, sponsoring the event came very easily, even as she confirmed the entity’s commitment to the tournament with the aim of one day having its final played at the Guyana National Stadium.

Meanwhile, GFSCA secretary Lalta Gainda, sees yesterday’s event as a marriage between the two entities and said in time and with Ansa McAl’s support, the Guyana Softball Cup will be the country’s biggest sporting event.

The Guyana Softball Cup will see seven teams come from the New York area, three from the State of Florida and two from Canada, all heading to Guyana in an attempt to cart off the $1M Open and $800 000 Masters prizes respectively.

Matches are scheduled to be played at the Police Sports Club ground at Eve Leary, Everest Cricket Club, Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) ground, Georgetown Cricket Club, Gandhi Youth Organisation, Enmore and Enterprise Community Centres.

Defending champions Trophy Stall (Open) and New York Better Hope Softball Club (Masters), will be aiming to replicate their 2013 performance since it was also pointed out that one of the tournament’s sponsors, Steve Jewellery, will be giving away two gold and diamond encrusted cricket bands to the Most Valuable Player (MVP) from each category.

First Published In The Guyana Chronicle.

Guyana Times article.

Georgetown, Guyana - Batsman Rajendra Chandrika is considered one of the country’s brightest prospects, and having earned selection to the Guyana franchise for the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Professional Cricket League’s (PCL) Regional 4-day and NAGICO Super50 Tournaments, the right-hander is keen to cash in and cement his place in the Guyana side.

Being considered one of the more technically correct young batsmen in the Caribbean, the 25-year-old, represented Guyana in 22 First-Class matches, but has been in and out of the side.

He commenced his senior career for Guyana in 2010 against Trinidad and Tobago at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua, where he scored a fluent 65 while his last outing was rather discouraging against Jamaica at the Guyana National Stadium where he only made five and zero last year.

Golden opportunity

However, Chandrika, who represented the Sagicor High Performance Centre said the selection represents a golden opportunity to secure a long-term role in the national side.

An average of just 21.90 with a topscore of 90, Chandrika told Guyana Times Sport on Thursday that “this is probably the best chance to resurrect his First-Class career”.

“I am back in the reckoning, and this time I am determined to make it count,” he said.

He added “You always want to give your best performance for your country; I am working very hard both mentally and physically but consistency will be the key and I am looking forward to give my best,” the former West Indies Under-19 batsman divulged.

Chandrika has been in tremendous form of recent, scoring over 400 runs in the senior Inter-County 4-day tournament, inclusive of a classy 219 against Berbice his second Inter-County century and first ‘double’ since Assad Fudadin’s 208 against Essequibo at Anna Regina in 2009.

Chandrika along with Barbadian all-rounder Raymond Reifer, Guyanese middle-order batsman Vishaul Singh and fast bowlers Keon Joseph and Paul Wintz were chosen at Monday’s inaugural Player Draft of the West Indies Cricket Board’s Professional Cricket League, staged at Accra Beach Hotel in Barbados.

The five players joined the 10 retrained players: Devendra Bishoo, Narsingh Deonarine, Assad Fudadin, Leon Johnson, Veerasammy Permaul, Christopher Barnwell, Ronsford Beaton, Anthony Bramble, Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Trevon Griffith as the players selected for the Guyana Franchise.

The regional season will start in November and will have four-day cricket played in a home and away format, paving the way for a minimum of 10 games in the tournament.

The 4-day tournament will then break in January to make way for the Super 50 limited-overs tournament. The 4-day competition will resume thereafter and culminate in March.

First Published In The Guyana Times.

Kaieteur News article.

Georgetown, Guyana - Charity and Devonshire Castle have secured their places in the final of the R & D Engineering Service T20 tournament after winning their respective semi-final matches played recently at Walton Hall in North Essequibo.

Charity thumped Ravens by 10 wickets in their encounter which was reduced to 15 overs due to rain. Ravens tallied 99-6 off their allotted overs, batting first. Punraj Singh was their leading batsman with 21 while Elroy Stephney made 16 not out.

Devin Thakurdeen claimed 2-16 and Terrence Tulsieram 2-18. Charity blasted their way to 100 without loss in 11.2 overs. Wayne Fernandes led the chase with 45 and Keisho Rooplall slammed 40.

Devonshire Castle trounced Walton Hall by three wickets in their fixture. The home team posted a respectable 179-7 in 20 overs, after taking first strike. Rana Lall hit an unbeaten 41, Latchman Singh 40 and Navin Bahadur 38.

Manoj Lall snared 4-24 while Ramesh Narine and Basil Persaud had one each. Devonshire Castle encountered some nervous moments after losing Ramesh Narine for 32, but Ajay Jailall and Darshan Persaud featured in an unbroken eight-wicket stand of 70 to see their team to safety, ending on 180-7 in 19.4 overs.

Jailall stroked 44 and Persaud 36. Bahadur picked up 3-28 and Vishwanauth Lall 2-32. The final is for the Anna Regina Community Centre ground on October 25.

First Published By Kaieteur News.

Kaieteur News article.

Georgetown, Guyana - Play in the Carib Beer first division T20 cricket competition continues this weekend in Berbice with Zone A and B second round matches on Sunday, rescheduled Zone C matches will be contested tomorrow and Sunday.

Following are the fixtures:

Saturday

09:00hrs         1. Albion Community Centre vs Port Mourant at Albion

2. Rose Hall Town Gizmos & Gadgets vs Guytrac Upper Corentyne at Rose Hall Town

13:30hrs         1. Albion Community Centre vs Skeldon Community Centre at Albion

Sunday – Zone A

13:30hrs          1. Blairmont Community Centre vs Bush Lot Rising Star at Blairmont

2. D’Edward vs West Berbice at D’Edward

Zone B

13:30hrs         1. Young Warriors vs Edinburgh at Cumberland

2. Universal Solutions Bermine vs Police at Albion

Zone C

09:00hrs         1. Guytrac Upper Corentyne vs Albion Community Centre at No. 69

2. Skeldon Community Centre vs Rose Hall Town Gizmos & Gadgets at Skeldon

13:30hrs         1. Guytrac Upper Corentyne vs Port Mourant at No. 69

First Published By Kaieteur News.

Trinidad Express article.

Port of Spain, Trinidad - Trinidad and Tobago all-rounder Rayad Emrit welcomed the addition of Guyanese batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan to the Red Force side saying the accomplished batsman could give the T&T side the experience and balance it needs to help them end their trophy drought.

Emrit joined the T&T training camp on Monday after returning from India where he led the Barbados Tridents in the Champions League T20 when they crashed out at the group stage having lost three matches before winning their final group game.

The T&T all-rounder is expected to captain the national team in the absence of regular skipper Denesh Ramdin and he is happy with the composition of the squad and their preparations so far.

“Obviously we have Sars (Sarwan) who has been included in the team and with the tremendous experience he has, it is good to that he will be part of our squad,” said Emrit.

The 34-year-old Sarwan has played 87 Tests for the West Indies, the last of which was in 2012.

He has scored 5,842 Test runs with 15 centuries and 31 half centuries and Emrit says the Guyanese right-hander will be more than just another player batsman in the T&T camp.

“It was amazing to see a player like that in the draft but one man’s loss in another man’s gain, so hopefully he can bring that wealth of experience to the team,” Emrit said.

“We have a lot of young guys in the team who can learn from Sarwan’s experience. He is in because our batting has struggled throughout the years and he can come in with the middle order and give us the experience and balance that we need,” added Emrit.

He noted that T&T narrowly missed clinching the trophy in the previous season and said while they are aiming to go a step further this season, it will not be an easy task.

Each team will play ten matches in the new WICB Pro League season--five home and five away--starting next month and finishing next March. Emrit believes that schedule will be testing.

“We have been playing good cricket in T&T so we will try to get as much points as possible at home. It is going to be a tough long season and the guys will need to be a lot fitter. I have joined the team in training now and I can see they have been putting in a lot of work and I find myself a little behind the work they have put in. Everything looks good so far and hopefully we can get better as the weeks go long.

“I think there is always room for improvement ...and hopefully with this new structure of franchise cricket, we can get it right this year,” Emrit added.

Speaking about the CLT20, Emrit said it he relished the opportunity to lead Tridents in the tournament.

“It was a huge challenge but it was a tremendous experience and I enjoyed it a lot,” he said.

“Although we lost three games on the trot, we had chances to win those games. It was disappointing that we made some simple mistakes which really cost us,” he said.

Now Emrit will be aiming to get back into the four-day frame of mind when the Red Force plays a two-day practice match at the National Cricket Centre in Balmain Couva starting today.

First Published In The Trinidad Express.

Guyana Times article.

Georgetown, Guyana - Versatile West Indies player Shemaine Campbelle recently became the recipient of a Stone Hill bat and batting gloves from her local softball team 4R Lioness.

Campbelle is preparing to leave for Australia on Monday with the West Indies team to compete in a series between the two sides. As such, Campbelle will not be able to represent 4R Lioness in the upcoming Guyana Softball Cup Four.

Nevertheless, her Manager at 4R Lioness Jagrattee Ramjattan, team mentor Calvin Lyght and teammates have wished her well during the series ‘Down Under’, noting that she will also be missed during the Guyana Softball Cup from October 31 to November 2.

Campbelle, 21, is an experienced campaigner on the international stage, having represented the West Indies in 54 One Day Internationals and 64 T20 Internationals. She is the only female Guyanese to score an ODI hundred.

First Published In The Guyana Times.

Guyana Times article.

Georgetown, Guyana - Four teams recorded wins last weekend when action in the Ramchand/Rohan Auto Spares softball competition continued at various venues.

Wellwoman defeated Sleeping Warriors by 37 runs; Trophy Stall Angels prevailed by five wickets over 4R Lioness; Industry Super Kings outplayed Bel Air Rubis by nine wickets and Wellman got the better of Floodlight by four wickets.

Below are the summarised scores from the games.

Wellwoman defeated Sleeping Warriors by 37 runs. Wellwoman 94-1 in 10 overs (Zola Telford 42, Latoya Smith 40*) Sleeping Warriors 57-9 in 10 overs (Mickelly 24, Z Telford 4-9, Amanda Bobsemple 3-9).

Trophy Stall Angels defeated 4R Lioness by five wickets. 4R Lioness 92-5 in 10 overs (Akaze Thompson 25*, Ruth George 21, KavitaYadram 2-14, Roxanne DeMonick 2-15) Trophy Stall Angels 93-4 (Roxanne DeMonick 28, Monica Seales 26*).

Industry Super Kings defeated Bel Air Rubis by 9 wickets. Bel Air Rubis 120-8 off 15 overs (Fizal Ali 37, Vijay Baljit 31*, David Harper 2-12) Industry 121-2 off 11.2 overs (Jagdesh Persaud 51*, N Chand 26).

Wellman defeated Floodlight by four wickets. Floodlight 108-5 off 15 overs (Ricky Deonarain 40, Vivanand Samlall 2-19) Wellman 111-7 in 13.3 overs (Shawn Massiah 42, Wayne Jones 4-8).

The competition will continue on Sunday with Farm playing Young Guns at 09:30h at the GNIC ground, followed by Regal against Challengers at 12:30 hours.

At the Parika ground, Savage Masters will confront Frontliners at 09:30h, before taking on Parika Defenders at 12:30h.

The Cyril Potter College of Education ground will also host matches. On Pitch One at 09:30h, Herstelling will take on Trophy Stall; and at 12:30h, Speedboat will tackle Herstelling. On Pitch Two at 09:30h, Speedboat will play Country Side; and at 12:30h, Princess Hotel will collide with Warriors XI.

First Published In The Guyana Times.