A strong team from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS) lost to Mal Skills team by 109 runs in a feature limited overs cricket match at the Guyana National Service Ground, Carifesta Avenue yesterday.
Prior to the start of the 35-overs-side game, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony in welcoming the teams, in the presence of Permanent Secretary Keith Booker and Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC) Neil Kumar, encouraged them to play to the best of their abilities.
The minister acknowledged that this was the start of a bilateral game that would be featured annually in Guyana while Booker said that on the next occasion the teams will be afforded the privilege of touring the three counties of Guyana and playing competitive cricket.
After winning the toss and batting, the visiting team led by Monty Lynch and featuring a mix of English and local players took first strike and soon found themselves in trouble, thanks to a fiery opening spell from young Nikita Lawson who quickly sent back two batsmen.
The visitors, whose team included former national players Rabindranauth Seeram and Andre Percival, were in a spot of bother when Englishman Lee Wood was dismissed without scoring by medium pacer Mark Cumberbatch which was followed by a double strike from Lawson.
But the evergreen Martin Jean-Jacques rolled back the years and, in partnership with Percival took the attack to the tiring MCYS bowlers.
The two put on 150 runs for the fifth wicket with Jean-Jacques scoring 69 with two sixes and nine fours and Percival 78 with four sixes and eight fours.
Percival, who was given a life when on 32, made the bowlers pay dearly for the lapse especially Sherwin Vincent whom he struck for 16 runs in one over.
Mal Skills eventually closed their innings on 205-8 with the burly Alim Khan ending on 14 not out off only nine balls.
Lawson was the pick of the MSYC bowlers with 3-30 while Vincent chipped in with 2-45.
The MCYS team, in reply, were off to a bad start losing two wickets in the third over to slip to 8-2 with Fenton Persaud and Arnim Griffith, both adjudged LBW to B. Williams for two and three runs respectively.
Sixteen runs later the MCYS team lost a third wicket when Mervyn Vyphius was bowled by Renwick Batson before Roderick Mc Almont and Kenroy Joseph added 39 runs for the fourth wicket.
The introduction of medium pacer Amir Mahmoud paid almost immediate dividends with Mahmoud grabbing the wickets of Mc Almont, Matthew Martin and the experienced Daniel Richmond. In between Andre Percival chipped in with the wicket of Clarence Williams for 11.
At this stage Lynch introduced Seeram into the attack and, in the space of nine deliveries it was all over.
Seeram wrapped up the tail to finish with 3-7 from 1.3 overs. Percival for his 78 and 1-16 was adjudged Man-of-the-Match by adjudicator Bashir Khan.
Bowling for Mal Skills Mahmood had 3-25, Williams 2-23 and Seeram 3-7.
