Fans rush to play charity T20 with Lara

For the second consecutive year, cricket fans will be flocking to Barrackpore to see a Brian Lara XI take on a Daren Ganga XI in a charity T20 fixture. The match, which bowls off at 1.30pm on Saturday, is being organised by the Daren Ganga Foundation and takes place at the Daren Ganga Recreation Ground.

Spectators will see past cricket legends such as Lara, Curtly Ambrose and Ramnaresh Sarwan line-up alongside current T20 star Sunil Narine and national footballer Kevin Molino.

Fans have the unique opportunity of getting onto the field-of-play to bat and bowl with these top sporting personalities by making a contribution of $1,200 towards the venture. Twenty lucky persons will be picked to play in the match and also enjoy dinner and drinks with the stars.

Speaking to Ganga yesterday, the former West Indies opener and TT captain said the response from the public has been tremendous.

“We’re already oversubscribed with persons wanting to play,” he said.

Action gets underway at 9.30am with two local clubs – Victoria United against Barrackpore United – in a T20 clash to set the stage for the afternoon’s feature game.

Ganga said the T20 charity game was well received last year and it is something they want to continue.

“It’s going to be an annual event on the Foundation’s calendar. Proceeds will go towards the Foundation. Our main initiative is the scholarship programme and it will also support the cricket academy that I have and other initiatives such as the Nelson Mandela Day,” he said.

He said the guest players were all keen to take part as they see the initiative as a good concept and vital to the community.

Fans will be hoping to see another master-class from Lara this year after he thrilled them in a four-wicket victory over the Ganga XI in the 2017 edition. The stylish left-hander struck a match-winning 67 off 24 balls with Guyana’s Shivnarine Chanderpaul taking them across the line with an unbeaten 53.