2008 ED AHMAD CUP
New York Combined XI Beefs Up

By John L. Aaron
July 11th, 2008
As the Ed Ahmad Cup enters its second round, this year’s surprise inclusion of a combined New York XI, is sparking renewed interest in the premier tournament. The New York XI, having lost its opening match to the perennial favorite Guyana, is expected to field an enhanced XI in today’s match-up with Trinidad & Tobago at Idlewild Park, in Rosedale, Queens and starting at 11:00 am.

Narsingh Deonarine

Led by the veteran all-rounder and former USA skipper Zamin Amin, the Combined XI is expected to include West Indies stars William Perkins, Ryan Ramdass, Narsingh Deonarine and Kenroy Peters. In addition, Pakistani hard-hitting batsman Nadeem Younis has joined the squad, along with Dennison Thomas, Curtis Baptiste and Amjad Khan.

Limited to only four Guyanese per match, the New York Combined XI will feature the aforementioned Zamin Amin as captain, Narsingh Deonarine, Tyrone Blair and Ryan Ramdass. The latter, a right-handed 25-year old opening batsman, has appeared for the West Indies against Sri Lanka in Test and ODI matches, while Narsingh Deonarine has four Tests and five ODI matches under his belt for the West Indies, as a middle-order left-hand batsman and right-arm offbreak bowler.

The Combined XI will be selected from Zamin Amin (Capt.), Narsingh Deonarine, William Perkins, Ryan Ramdass, Dennison Thomas, Kenroy Peters, Curtis Baptiste, Nadeem Younis, L. Seriaux, Tyrone Blair, Amjad Khan, Vernon Dumas and Hunan Munir.

William Perkins

Managed by Peter Jolly, the New York Combined XI has registered a roster of 36 players, including some outstanding players like Kester Sylvester, who recently slammed almost 200 runs in three matches for New York in the regional senior tournament. Sylvester is expected to miss the match against Trinidad & Tobago because of a prior commitment.

It is generally felt that the New York Combined XI may be the team that’s expected to challenge 2007 Ed Ahmad Cup champions Guyana, despite its first-round whipping by the Steve Massiah led squad. Some pundits feel that the Combined XI will peak at the right moment of the tournament, as the star-studded players get to know each other.

Trinidad & Tobago, the 2006 Ed Ahmad champions are no pushovers, despite losing their first match against Jamaica at Idlewild Park. With players such as Dave Mohamed and Denis Rampersad, the calypso boys are expected to give a very good account of themselves in today’s first fixture at Idlewild. In the second match Guyana is expected to face off against Barbados at the same venue. That match starts at 3:00 pm. In the only other fixture today, Jamaica and Pakistan clash at Van Cortlandt Park in The Bronx at 11:00 am.
John Aaron Column Homepage

WALLPAPERS