GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC):
It is general elections month in Guyana, but rain poses the biggest threat to disrupting the 2006 TCL West Indies Under-19 tournament scheduled to bowl off today at three venues in Georgetown.
Heavy rains, which drenched the capital yesterday, also washed out practice sessions for the six participating teams, scheduled for that morning.
The top 84 Under-19 players in
the region have converged in Guyana to battle for supremacy in the August 8-30 tournament.
In the opening round of matches, hosts, Guyana, will play the Leeward Islands at Everest, while the clash between defending champions Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica at the
Test venue, Bourda, should also generate plenty interest.
Clash
Windward Islands will face last year's runner-up, Barbados, at the Police ground in the other first round encounter.
This will be an opportunity for them to not only establish themselves as future Test stars, but to make lasting friendships, learn about different cultures and experience first-hand, life in a sister CARICOM state, as the region prepares to host the 2007 World Cup.
Six players who represented West Indies in the last Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka should be on show.
Guyana will field Richard Ramdeen and Gajanand Singh, Barbados will boast the services of skipper Shamarh Brooks and Kemar Roach, T&T possess the talent of Sunil Narine while the Windwards will have Andre Fletcher in their line-up.
Youth tournament
This is the 13th time Guyana will host the regional youth tournament which began in Barbados in 1968. The home team is the most successful team with 11 titles, five of them coming on home soil. However, they are yet to win since capturing the last of their six consecutive titles at home in 1997.
Trinidad and Tobago, who emerged champions when the tournament was last played in Guyana in 2003, have won eight tiles, the same as Barbados who shared the championship with T&T in the 1970 competition.
Jamaica whose last triumph was at home in 2004, have seven titles while two of the three Leeward Islands titles were won in Guyana in 1989 and 2001. The Windwards' only title was also achieved in Guyana in 2000. The 1972 and '73 series were won by the Combined Islands.
