A Man-of-the-Match performance from Ghandi Youth Organization’s 16-year-old off-spinner Ricardo Devers who claimed match figures of 9-46, enabled Demerara to defeat defending champions Berbice by an innings and 45 runs in their Guyana Cricket Board (GCB)/Clico sponsored 2008 Under-17 Inter County two-day tournament at the Wales Community Centre ground yesterday.
Resuming on their overnight score of 26-4, Berbice was bowled out for a meagre 48 and, asked to bat a second time 128 runs behind Demerara’s first innings score of 176, fared a bit better, but still crumbled to 83 all-out.
Devers removed their first six batsmen to finish with 7-36 and even though Jamally Odle showed some resistance in his top score of 18, and rain stopped play for 71 minutes Demerara was still able to romp to a comfortable triumph.
Berbice was off to a bad start losing overnight batsman Andrew Dennis, who started the day on two, to a googly from Amir Khan and lost his middle stump. He had made seven and Berbice was 34-5 in the 18th over.
Sharmindra Hardyal (05) too was outfoxed by Khan who had him adjudged lbw at 40-6 and when national under-19 fast bowler Keon Joseph was run out by Dayanand Roopnarine as he attempted a single after pushing a Devers delivery to cover, Berbice was staring down the barrel of humiliation at 43-7.
All this time, the diminutive Dominique Rikhi (11) was building a workmanlike innings for his team, having started the day on four.
But he saw the demise of Yogeshwar Deonarine (02) who was caught by Kwame Crosse off Devers and when Khan had him trapped on the crease, Berbice was 41-9 in the 32nd over.
Devers ensured no recovery was staged between national under-15 wicketkeeper/batsman Andy Mohan and Trinson Carmichael when he bowled the latter to give his team a mammoth lead after just 71 minutes and 34.5 overs of batting.
Khan with 3-6 from 12 overs and Devers 2-10 (7.5 overs), offered support to Seon Daniels who ended with 4-20 from his 10 overs.
Following on, Berbice with openers Harrinarine Chattergoon (04) and Rikhi (09) reached 13 without loss at lunch from nine overs with Chattergoon and Rikhi on three each.
After lunch, they added a mere four more runs before `Hurricane’ Devers took over.
Extracting lots of bounce and turn from the wicket, he had Chattergoon caught by Daniels at cover as he dove upward to a delivery that turned into him from outside off stump.
Rikhi (09) and Odle (18) added what was eventually 19 valuable runs for the second wicket with Odle hitting Devers twice over mid-on for four to push the score to 36-1 in the 19 over, before Rikhi was caught by Shameer Fazal at midwicket as he attempted to flick at a delivery that turned and left him.
The catch of the match and probably the tournament was taken by substitute Medha Dhanpaul who ran from deep midwicket to deep forward square leg to hold onto a chance offered by Odle, diving in the process to spark off celebrations amongst his teammates on and off the field. Earlier in the day, he had made a valiant attempt in the same position off Hardyal, when the batsman pulled Devers to deep backward square leg in Berbice’s first innings. Odle’s top score of 18 was decorated with two fours from 45 balls and 40 minutes of batting in which he was given a chance by wicketkeeper Dexter Solomon who had failed to execute a stumping off Khan when Berbice were 36-2.
Wickets tumbled rapidly for the defending champion as Devers continued to mesmerize the batsmen with his flight and guile, rocking their middle order by taking three wickets for nine runs to leave them precariously placed on 52-5.
When Khan got into the wicket-taking act to remove Dennis for five and Devers removed Joseph for four, they were staring down the barrel of an embarrassing defeat at 58-7. Just as the newly crowned champions were romping to victory following the demise of Deonarine who was run out by Quincy Ovid as he attempted a second run off Khan, the heavens opened and a brief shower chased the players off the field.
Play was halted for 10 minutes, and as was the case on the first day when water from the covers got onto the pitch during the removal of the covers, play was further halted for 62 minutes, forcing the umpires to take an early tea break with Berbice on 60-8 in the 35th over.
Finally, play got underway at 3.12pm and even though Hardyal struck Arif Habib over backward square leg for six the third boundary of his team’s second innings, Devers took another wicket that of Mohan bowled for eight at 68-9.
Some loose bowling and fielding enabled Hardyal (15) and Carmichael to add 15 more runs for the final wicket until Solomon switched Khan to the Northern End and the bowler had Hardyal adjudged lbw to give Demerara the title they last won in 2006 under the captaincy of former national under -19 captain Steven Jacobs, but lost to Berbice last year.
Spin twins Devers who ended with 7-36 from 18 overs and Khan with 2-21 from 20.2 overs did the damage for Demerara.
For his superlative efforts, Devers who ended the tournament with 13-78, was adjudged the Man-of-the-Match and the best bowler, both of which he received prizes for.
Khan was named the most improved player, whilst Solomon (best wicketkeeper) and Essequibo’s Herrell Greene who aggregated 118 runs, was named the best batsman.
After the game, the junior selection panel of the GCB announced a 26-member squad that will be contesting three 50 overs-a side trial matches at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) ground, Queenstown from Tuesday to Thursday for possible selection on the national team to contest the Regional Under-17 competition that is being sponsored and organized by the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board later in the year.
The squad reads: Herrell Greene, Quincy Ovid, Anthony Adams, Rensford Beaton, Neil Ramalho, Dwayne Singh, Arif Habib, Kwame Crosse, Dexter Solomon, Amir Khan, Ricardo Devers, Dayanand Roopnarine, Andre Stoll, Seon Daniels, Dellon Fernandes, Kamal Ramkissoon, Keon Joseph, Joemal La Fleur, Harrinarine Chattergoon, Dominique Rikhi, Andy Mohan, Trinson Carmichael, Clinton Pestano, Jamally Odle and Sharmindra Hardyal.
