A gathering of marquee West Indies and local 20-over players will ignite the Providence National Stadium in the much anticipated Unity Cricket T20 game.
Adding to Lendl Simmons, Rayad Emrit and Nicholas Pooran, West Indies T20 Captain Darren Sammy arrived and is ready to excite the cricket loving Guyanese fans.
Speaking to media operatives on Friday at the 704 Sports Bar, Sammy revealed that “I don’t think we have such opportunities like this before, this is the first time we will have, [Darren] Sammy, [Christopher] Gayle, [Dwayne] Smith and all the guys who play T20 in one place and it’s not for CPL [Caribbean Premier League] or the West Indies; I think it’s something that should be an annual event, cricket is vital part of the driving force in the Caribbean”.
Despite the festive atmosphere surrounding the event, Sammy is keen to be competitive but yet still have fun.
“The schedule that we have, most of the guys are going off to the PCL [Pakistan Premier League], IPL [Indian Premier League], then World Cup; so we have to safe guard against injuries but most of the guys are competitive and I guarantee you can expect excitement since we are here to entertain”
Quizzed on the prospects of bowling to Chris Gayle considering the form he is in, Sammy said in a joking manner, “If I’m captain, I guarantee I wouldn’t bowl to him”.
However the West Indies Captain was quick to assert that this is a great opportunity for young talents to be noticed, especially ahead of the CPL draft.
Every fan in the stands who takes a one handed catch will be US$500 richer and if Gayle cuts loose they could have many opportunities to do so.
Softball cricket attracts its own crowd as was seen by large turnout for the Guyana Softball Cup
There will be five exciting games from 10:00h and in the Open 10/10 semi-finals involving Berbice Karibee Rice Boyz, Essequibo, Regals and Wolf Warriors, $200,000 will be the top prize while the runners-up will get $100,000, third place $50,000 and fourth place $50,000.
The winners of the semi-finals will clash in the final at 16:30h.
The Ramnaresh Sarwan-led Legacy All Stars face off with the 007 Warriors, which will be led by Christopher Barnwell to climax a day of fun and frolic for the entire family in an attempt to forge national unity through sports.
Legacy All Stars: Ramnaresh Sarwan (Captain), Chris Gayle, Rajendra Chandrika, Andre Fletcher, Narsingh Deonarine, Jonathon Foo, Nicholas Pooran, Dwayne Bravo, Devendra Bishoo, Sulieman Benn, Assad Fudadin, Robin Bacchus, Gajanand Singh and Royston Crandon.
007 Warriors: Chris Barnwell (Captain), Dwayne Smith, Lendl Simmons, Anthony Bramble, Shemroy Barrington, Jason Holder, Darren Sammy, Steven Jacobs, Sherfane Rutherford, Reyad Emrit, Veerasammy Permaul, Ronsford Beaton, Samuel Badree and Gudakesh Motie. (Taken from Guyana Times)
