Berbice began their defence of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB)/ Castrol sponsored under-15 Inter-County title with an energetic 106-run win over Essequibo yesterday at the National Stadium, Providence.
Winning the toss and opting to bat, Berbice found themselves in a spot of bother on 23-3 in the fourth over.
However, they recovered to pile up 231-7 from their 40 overs before restricting the Essequibians to 125-8 from their 40 overs.
Captain Jamally Odle benefited from some dreary fielding from the Essequibians leading from the front with a polished 89.
Odle struck 11 fours and one six and received support from Sharmindra Hardyal who made an unbeaten 35, decorated with five fours.
Veerapen Permaul, younger brother of West Indies under-19 left arm orthodox spinner, Veerasammy Permaul, made 21 with two fours.
Rensford Beaton (2-38), Herry Greene (2-39), Nokta Moses (1-25) and Kevin Fredericks 1-27 were the wicket-takers for Essequibo.
In reply, Essequibo found themselves in an early spot of bother losing Trevon Bennons in the second over with the score on four. As was the case against Demerara the previous day, they lost wickets regularly with the introduction of spin to be tottering on 68-6 in the 20th over with only Shawn Garraway being the lone contributor on 19.Essequibo’s skipper Dwayne Singh (11) looked solid in a partnership with Nokta Moses before he was caught by Clinton Pestano, who made up some ground from midwicket to backward square and took the catch.
Some late order batting helped restore some pride as Fredericks, who was left unbeaten on 26, took the fight to the defending champions.
Fredericks and Vishal Gowkarran added 14 runs for the seventh wicket before Gowkarran was smartly stumped by wicket keeper Andy Mohan off Jamal La Fleur (1-14) for eight to leave his team perched on 82-7 in the 28th over.
Fredericks added a further 26 with Herry Greene before the latter departed at 108-8 in the 35th over.
Fredericks and Beaton then batted out the remaining overs adding 17 runs for the ninth wicket to ensure that their team was not bowled out in the process. Beaton was not out on eight.
Bowling for Berbice, Hardyal (2-21), Gudakeshkani Moti (2-24) and Lewis (2-19) were the principal wicket takers for Berbice who will oppose Demerara in the final preliminary round game today at the same venue.
Speaking with Stabroek Sport, coach of the victorious Berbice team former national player Andre Percival said the victory was a simple one for his charges who executed the game plan effectively.
“The victory was a simple one although we were in some trouble early in our innings. But the captain kept a level head to play a responsible innings and see his team out of that stormy period. His knock was a brilliant one and he received some healthy support from Hardyal and Permaul in ensuring that we posted a respectable total at the end of our overs.”
Percival added: “Although we were victorious in the end, there are some areas of concern that we have to look at closely including our batsmen putting together some more partnerships instead of gifting their wickets away easily.”
Essequibo’s coach Vibert Johnson expressed his disappointment at the loss and called on the GCB to help revitalize cricket at the junior level in the county.
“We have the talent there, but not much is being done for these youngsters. The building of the hostel would be a tremendous boost for the county as it would enable us to host cricketers indoors and outdoors, but there is still a great deal more that needs to be done.
“Our performance today should be an indication of the talent that is available in the county. We became complacent after having them 23-3 in the fourth over with two chances going abegging in the same fourth over. Nevertheless, our batting has improved some what, but the batsmen especially the top order lacked application” Johnson further stated.
