Defendingchampions Al Barkaat English School (Kurla) have their task cut out as the Mumbai Schools Sports Association-organised Harris Shield boys' U-16 inter-school cricket tournament begins today.Al Barkaat who had defeated Swami Vivekanand International School (Kandivli) in the final last year, have retained eight players from the winning team. Head coach Nafees Khan has full faith in the six replacement.

"Six players from last year's team have passed out. The players from the junior ranks, who have come into the team, are equally proficient and I'm confident that they will live up to my expectations. Ours is a good all-round team, with depth in the batting, sting in the bowling and backed by some excellent fielding. Our captain Harsh Mogaveera is also a good leader and proved it by guiding the team to success last year," Khan told mid-day after a practice session yesterday.