Strong Guyana U-17 team to compete in Regional tourney

A STRONG Guyana Under-17 squad departed yesterday for Trinidad and Tobago to compete in the Regional Under-17 Tournament.The tournament bowls off on Monday with Guyana facing Leeward Islands at Inshan Ali Park.
The squad is led by opening batsman Bhaskar Yadram, who will have former West Indies Under-15 selectee Joshua Persaud as his deputy.
Yadram and wicketkeeper batsman Persaud will lead a strong batting line-up which also includes the likes of Kevin Sinclair, Kurt Lovell, Kevlon Anderson, Alphius Bookie, Steve Deonarine, Sachin Singh and Ashmead Nedd. All-rounders Javed Karim and Sagar Hathiramani are also expected to give good support with the bat.
Meanwhile, the bowling department will be led by medium pacers Collin Barlow, Joshua Jones and Kurt Lovell, along with experienced left-arm spinner Ashmead Nedd. Off-spinners Kevin Sinclair, Kelvin Umroa, Hathiramani, Yadram and Karim will complete a spin-heavy bowling department.
The players recently concluded training camp at the Chetram Singh of Excellence Indoor facility in LBI, and are confident of doing well although the inclement weather prevented any outdoor practice sessions.
Following their first-round fixture against Leeward Islands on Monday, Guyana will take on Barbados the following day at Inshan Ali Park. Round three will see Guyana play Jamaica on Thursday, July 14 at the National Cricket Centre (NCC) while Round four will be played on Saturday, July 16 as Guyana take on hosts Trinidad and Tobago at NCC. After that Guyana will play their final match on Sunday, July 17 against Windward Island at NCC.
This tournament is the only Youth tournament that Guyana have never won.
The full squad reads: Bhaskar Yadram (captain), Joshua Persaud (vice-captain), Ashmead Nedd, Kevin Sinclair, Kurt Lovell, Alphius Bookie, Javed Karim, Sagar Hathiramani, Steve Deonarine, Kevlon Anderson, Sachin Singh, Kelvin Umroa, Collin Barlow and Joshua Jones. The manager is Nazeer Mohamed and the coach is Gavin Nedd.