– Percival named Man-of-the-Match in finals
Boasting some of Guyana’s top senior players in their side, the Rose Hall Town Windies Sports Bar (RHTWSB) defeated Rose Hall Canje to take the Busta Champions of Champions title on Sunday in Berbice to claim their fifth title in six years.
The match was reduced to 40 overs due to overnight and early morning showers and RHTWSB chose to bat first after winning the toss. They made a blistering 235 for 7 while Rose Hall Canje through some excellent bowling slumped to defeat by 101 runs scoring just 134.
From the start it was obvious it would have been a one-sided affair as openers Renwick Batson and Michael Hicks added 61 for the first wicket in 16 overs before Batson was bowled for a well played 41 (2×6, 1×4).
Hicks who struggled to get the ball away and Jason Sinclair added 12 for the second wicket before Hicks was caught at cover by Totoram Seenanad off medium pacer Vishal Mohabir for a painstaking 18 off 58 balls.
Sinclair and national middle order batsman Assad Fudadin joined forces at 73 for 2 and with positive batting took RHTWSB to 139 in the 30th over before Fudadin was run out for an aggressive 35 (3×4,1×6).
Sinclair was then bowled for 42 by medium pacer Raffeek Kassim at 166 for 4 but RHTWSB then lost Royston Crandon 16 (2×6) while Esaun Crandon and Khemraj Mahadeo could only score a run each as the eventual champions collapsed at 169 for 7 in the 34th over.
Veteran all-rounder Andre Percival 21 not out (18 balls) and Hooper then added 66 in 6 overs to see their team to an imposing total of 235 for 7 off the 40 overs.
Hooper struck five massive sixes and a boundary in his shot-filled innings of 44. Bowling for Rose Hall Canje Raffeek Kassim took 2 for 61 and Vishal Mohabir 2 for 33.
In reply, Rose Hall Canje only could score a mere 134 all out in 18.3 overs.
Opener Totoram Seenanad was caught behind by Jason Sinclair off the bowling of spinner Troy Mathieson in the second over for one with the score on three.
More trouble came for the Rose Hall Canje team when Esuan Crandon shattered the stumps of Khemraj Sumair for two to make it 11 for two in the fifth over.
Opener Rocky Bipat and former national under-15 player Sanjay Khan then added 32 for the 3rd wicket in eighth overs before Bipat drove a simple catch off Percival to Assad Fudadin and then Vishal Singh was run out for nought to leave the home team shakily placed at 43 for 4 in the fifteenth over.
Khan single-handedly tried to force the pace while wickets fell on a regular basis around him but he stroked a brilliant 58 with four boundaries. Bowling for the RHTWSB, Esaun Crandon took two for 18, Percival two for 21 and Hooper two for 29.
At the presentation ceremony Secretary/CEO of the RHTYSC Hilbert Foster hailed the sixth edition of the tournament a huge success with a high standard of cricket, good individual performances and strong crowd support.
He congratulated RHT-WSB for their professional approach to the finals and for claiming the title for the fifth time.
Special thanks were expressed to General Manager of the Guyana Beverage Company in Berbice Robert Selman who expressed his appreciation for the organizing ability of the RHTYSC and disclosed that the sponsorship would continue in 2010.
Selman congratulated Rose Hall Canje for reaching the finals and told them that they did well because they were playing a very strong team with five national players.
Percival was named Man-of-the-Match in the finals for his 21 off 18 balls and also for picking up three wickets for just 21 runs.
The Rose Hall Canje team received $50,000 as well as the runner-up trophy and $30,000 in prizes while RHTWSB collected $100,000, the winners trophy and $30,000 in prizes.
