"We know that we have to beat Kenya outright and then hope Trinidad and the Windwards lose their games for us to qualify for the semifinals. This has motivated the entire team to be very positive and play `do or die' cricket in our final match since we have nothing to lose."

Those were the words of manager of the Guyana team Carl Moore ahead of the national team final-round match of the 2004 Carib Beer regional first-class competition against Kenya which starts today at Bourda.

Moore is confident that Guyana, with consecutive wins in their last two games, will beat Kenya, who lost by an innings and six runs to the Windwards in St. Vincent in the last round.

Kenya, the International team in the 2004 eight-team competition, is at the bottom of the points table on 16 points along with the Leeward Islands.

However, an outright win against the East Africans will not ensure Guyana, the defending regional one-day champions, an automatic place in the February 26-29 semi-finals.

Twelve points from this game will take Guyana, who returned home pointless after three outright defeats in their opening matches, to 40 points.

Trinidad and Tobago, strengthened by test players Brian Lara, Mervin Dillon and Ricardo Powell, need only to avoid an outright defeat to Barbados to qualify for the semi-finals while the Windward Islands need just four points to reach the semi-finals ahead of Guyana.

Double defending champions Barbados, with six consecutive wins, and the Carib Beer Cup already in the bag, along with Jamaica (40 points) are already through to the Carib Beer international shield semi-finals regardless of the outcome of their final round games.

The Guyana camp will hope that Barbados will become the first team to win seven games in a row in regional first class cricket by beating Trinidad and Tobago or that West Indies `B' (27 points) beat the Windwards (36 points) outright in Grenada.

Moore told Stabroek Sports yesterday after the local team's final net session at the Everest ground that everyone was fit and rearing to go today.

The track is expected to be slow and friendly to the batsmen but Moore says his bowlers are prepared to work on whatever surface is provided to press for a win.

"Our strength is our batting, especially with (Shivnarine) Chanderpaul and (Ramnaresh) Sarwan back but with (Mahendra) Nagamootoo back to his old-self and the experience of (Neil) McGarrell, I think our bowling is quite capable also," Moore disclosed.

Guyana could again use the medium pace of all-rounder Damodar Daesrath (six wickets from three matches) to share the new ball with Rayon Griffith (12 from five matches).

Nagamootoo, who needs two wickets to join Ranji Nanan (254) and Clyde Butts (270) as the only bowlers with 250 regional first-class wickets, will spearhead the spin attack.

He has 15 wickets this season despite missing two matches due to a ban imposed by the selectors for his involvement in a fist fight with Lennox Cush in Dominica.

McGarrell, who led the team in the first four games has 20 wickets and along with off-spinners Travis Dowlin and Narsingh Deonarine and leg-spinner Sarwan, should lend support on a track which could make life hard work for the bowlers.

Sewnarine Chattergoon (278 runs) and Krishna Arjune (167 runs) will hope to bat for personal glory and team interest at the top of the order.

Dowlin, Guyana's leading run scorer this season (357) seems back to top form while Deonarine (303) will have another chance to register a century after repeatedly throwing his wicket away when well set this season. Sarwan who made 95 on his return from South Africa, and Chanderpaul are the test batsmen in the side and should stabilize the middle order.

Nagamootoo (177 runs) batted with splendid responsibility in his 58 in the last game and along with his brother wicket-keeper Vishal Nagamooto, Daesrath, McGarrell and Griffith, Guyana has batting right down the order.

Despite a few showers yesterday afternoon the outfield is expected to be lightning fast and the pitch full of runs. Guyana might hope to bat once in this game although Kenya, led by Maurice Odumbe's 207, piled up a 500-plus total against the Leewards in the second round and have in their side two batsmen in the top ten run scorers this season.

The weather is another key factor in Guyana's quest for a semi- final place and, according the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Administrator Savitri Persaud, all measures have been put in place by the GCB to ensure that the least amount of time is lost if it rains in Georgetown.

"The ground is hard and we will make available as much covers as we can to cover at least eighty percent of the ground if it rains," Persaud informed.

Kennedy Otieno (439 runs with a century and three fifties) is the third highest run scorer in the competition behind Devon Smith (634 with three tons) and Dwayne Bravo (469 with a hundred and two fifties) and is expected to spearhead the Kenya batting.

Skipper Steve Tikolo (355) and Odumbe (312) are the Kenyans with over 300 runs in the competition and should enjoy batting on the famous Bourda sward where the West Indies recorded their first ever test victory in 1930.

Ravindra Shaw missed out by one on scoring the seventeenth century in the competition and, along with Martin Suji and Hitesh Modi is capable of good scores at this level.

Kenya, who beat the West Indies in the 1996 World Cup, has found first-class cricket a lot different from one-day matches and have struggled in their first West Indian competition, losing three of their matches and drawing the other three.

Tikolo feels that the biggest concern for his team is adapting to the first class format since only one-day cricket is played in Kenya.

The skipper, whose highest score in this competition is 94 and averages 35.5, said that plans are in place for three-day to be introduced at the domestic level later this year in Kenya. He called on the ICC to help pump funds into Kenya's cricket to help develop the longer version of the game in that country.

Odumbe has been the visitor's outstanding all-rounder with 25 wickets including three five-wicket hauls to his name while Tikolo (13) and Peter Ongondo (12) are the other bowlers in the side with 10 wickets.

Kenya are hoping the end their tour to the Caribbean with a victory in the game and an exciting contest is anticipated over the next four days.

The energetic Carib Girls and the Slingerz Sound System should provide off the field entertainment and, with the Guyanese hoping to celebrate their thirty-fourth Republic anniversary on Monday with a victory in the Garden City, a large crowd is expected, especially over the `Mash' weekend.

According to the Guyana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), plans are being put in place for ball-by-ball commentary of this important game. Anyone willing to sponsor segments could contact the radio station today.