GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CANA - IT'S down to crunch time or sudden death for the four top teams in this year's West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) regional Under-19 three-day tournament when the semi-finals get underway here today.
Hosts Guyana and Jamaica square off at the Uitvlugt Community Development Centre ground while the Windward Islands and Trinidad and Tobago clash at the Enmore Community Development Centre ground, the former west of the capital and the latter east.
Ironically, Trinidad and Tobago and the Windward Islands have not dropped first innings points in the preliminary round matches, with their first-round encounters being abandoned. The Trinidadians defeated the Leeward Islands outright and also secured vital first innings points from Guyana in Zone A while the Windwards crushed defending champions Barbados by 10 wickets in two days and gained a massive 246-run win over the hapless West Indies Development XI in Zone B.
With defending champions Barbados relegated to play the Leewards for the fifth position after a disappointing tournament, a new champion will therefore emerge this year.
Guyana's first hurdle in their aim to achieve a third consecutive triumph at home, following successes in 1992 and 1997, are the competitive Jamaicans who have been improving with every game since the tournament started.
The Guyanese return to Uitvlugt, venue of their first-round match which saw them come close to inflicting an outright win over the Leewards in two days.
There's however some cause for worry in the local camp as the batsman expected to dominate this year's tournament, skipper Narsingh Deonarine, has been having a lean time.
The 16-year-old West Indies A batsman, who broke Carl Hooper's record last year for the Guyanese with the most runs in a tournament, enters the crucial semi-final with scores of 28, 16 and a first-ball nought in his three previous innings.>
Deonarine, who was also the recipient of the Brian Lara Trophy for the batsman with the highest score in last year's tournament, following his undefeated 142 against Barbados, could play a major role in Guyana's advance should he get going.
Opener Hemraj Garbarran, the tournament's leading scorer with 292 runs, will also be looking to extend his form after scores of 71, 158 not out, 15 and 48 in his previous knocks. Garbarran will be joined by the returning opener Ryan Ramdass who missed the third-round game against Trinidad and Tobago because of injury after scores of 85 and 44 versus Canada at Bourda.
With stand-in opener Ramnarine Chattergoon having a reasonable game against the Trinidadians, the local selectors will have to decide whether to include all three at the expense of off-spinner Kieran Siewdyal.
Guyana's bowling will again centre around spin with the tournament's leading wicket-taker, off-spinner Kevin Bazil (23 wickets), aiming to extend his haul.
Jamaica, while improving with each game, will need to improve even more if they are to eliminate Guyana. Top players Brenton Parchment, Donovan Pagon, Carlton Baugh and Danza Hyatt have all had good starts but have failed to convert them into substantial scores.
Set 205 for victory in a possible 57 overs in their decisive third-round match against Barbados, the Jamaicans were content in earning a draw despite a positive start from Parchment (75) and Pagon (54).
Fast bowlers Andrew Richardson and Jermaine Lawson, already with growing reputations in the region, have not fully lived up to that billing to date. They are however capable of rising to the occasion as was seen in the Barbados second innings at Bourda when the two were the only bowlers used.
