The Mc Gill Superstars of Canal Number One defeated Zeeburg Cricket Club last Sunday at Canal Number Two to win the 2007 New Line Aqua Farm 40-over competition at the Sports Club Ground, West Bank Demerara.
Mc Gill won the toss and elected to bat first, which proved to be the right decision as they made 220 in their allotted 40 overs while losing nine wickets in the process.
Balram Aaron fell six runs short of a half century when he top scored for Mc Gill with 44 runs. Chitanand Shivram also made a significant contribution of 40 while Richard Sookdeo and Prahalad Singh contributed 37 and 35 respectively for Mc Gill. Zeeburg’s Amrit Jairam, who was later adjudged best bowler in the competition, finished with 3 wickets for 23 runs in his 8 overs, which included 2 maidens. Danpaul was the other successful bowler, picking up 3 wickets for 32 runs in his 8 overs.
Zeeburg got off to a comfortable start and at one point needed just 80 runs to win from 15 overs with 4 wickets to spare. However, the Mc Gill Superstars devised a deadly combination of good bowling and superb fielding which eventually caused Zeeburg’s demise, some 15 runs before reaching their target.
The 3 catches taken by Mc Gill’s captain Sudesh Persaud proved to be a great deterrent to the batsmen of Zeeburg Cricket Club. The match heated up in the final over as Zeeburg held unto slim hopes which soon vanished when the last batsman popped a ball in the long-off region and was safely taken by a Mc Gill fielder to end Zeeburg’s innings at 205 all-out in 39 overs.
Jagdesh Balgobin took 4 wickets for 40 runs in 8 overs for Mc Gill while Naresh Bedessee ended with 3 wickets for 24 runs, from 6 overs inc1uding one maiden.
Balbindar Persaud was named best batsman of the competition for his unbeaten innings of 55 runs while Amrit Jairam contributed 37 to complete a commendable all-round performance.
Man-of-the-match was awarded bowler Jagdesh Balgobin of the winning side, while teammate Balram Aaron was the best fielder. Canal Number Two Sports Club bowler Chabiraj Ramcharan was adjudged the most valuable player of the tournament.
Proprietor of New Line Aqua Farm, Salim Azeez was in attendance at this entertaining match and presented the trophy to the winning team. Azeez who expended more than $1M for the competition and more to enhance the venue, expressed his delight in the competitiveness of the clubs and players and pledged to continue his effort to improve cricket in West Demerara.
Also in attendance were President of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), Harold Dhanraj, and Secretary of the DCB Ian John. Dhanraj spoke highly of the skills and discipline of the players of West Demerara. West Demerara Cricket Association President Anand Sanasie recognised the contributions of the other executive members, especially Chair-man of the Competition Committee Lalta Degamber.
Games will continue in the Hand In Hand Second Division and the Cecil Persaud Under-15 competition in West Demerara. The association is also making arrangements to commence a twenty20 competition.
