By Marlon Munroe
Sewnarine Chattergon warmed up for his team’s showdown against Demerara today with a blistering and destructive 85 not out as Berbice steamrolled Essequibo by eight wickets at the Blairmont Community Development Centre ground yesterday.
Chattergoon’s 77-ball innings ensured that Berbice reached the target of 148 in 24.3 overs.
He shared in a 74-run second wicket partnership with skipper Assad Fudadin (25) who was bowled when Berbice required a mere four more runs for victory.
Chattergoon’s knock was decorated with 10 boundaries and three sixes and he treated all the Essequibo bowlers with disdain. He and Karamdat Bissoondial initially gave Berbice a solid foundation with a quick-fire 70-run opening stand. Trevon Garraway and Norman Fredericks were the only successful bowlers with one wicket apiece.
When Essequibo batted they scored 147 all out from 48 overs, thanks to some very inauspicious shots from the batsmen. Ryan Heyliger top scored with 25 and Ryan Hercules supported with 21. Narsingh Deonarine was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets while Esaun Crandon, Veerasammy Permaul and Davendra Bishoo took two wickets each.
Essequibo, after winning the toss, started shakily and things got worse as they struggled to 78-5. All their top batsmen got starts but failed to carry on after having done the hard work of seeing off Esaun Crandon, who bowled miserly for his 10 overs.
Crandon bowled Norman Fredericks for 17 and had Yogeshwar Lall caught behind by Delbert Hicks for 14. Off spinner Deonarine, leg spinner Davendra Bishoo and pacer Brandon Bess accounted for Royan Fredericks (12), Mohindra Boodram (6) and Captain Ramesh Narine (16) respectively on a pitch that provided variable bounce.
Shortly after Geewan singh (2) was caught at gully by Bess off the bowling of Bishoo to leave Essequibo tottering at 82-6 in 29th over. Heyliger and Ryan Hercules sought to make up lost ground but the spinners bothered them even as they picked up the odd single.
They brought up the team’s three figure mark in the 31st over when Heyliger steered Bishoo to third man for two. Eleven runs later though, Heyliger was trapped lbw by Deonarine for 25. A 20-run partnership was crafted between Hercules and Garraway but it was broken when Hercules played a slog sweep to a straight ball and was lbw to Permaul for 25.
Garraway and Andrew Williams stroked the ball around for a while until Garraway, attempting an expansive push on the offside, was caught behind by Hicks for nine off the bowling of left arm off spinner Permaul (144-9). The final delivery of Deonarine’s ninth over saw Anthony Adams chipping a catch to Jonathan Foo at mid on as Essequibo ended on 147 from 48 overs.
Deonarine finished with three wickets, Crandon, Permaul and Bishoo two apiece and Bess one wicket.
Berbice openers Chattergoon and Bissoondial plundered boundaries off the opening pacers of Garraway and Hercules. Chattergoon also took two sixes off the pacers as Berbice raced to 76-1 at the end of the 10th over after Bissoondial was dismissed for 18.
Subsequently, Chattergoon brought up his half century from 34 balls which included eight fours and two sixes. The change in bowlers did not bring much success either as the Berbicians looked as if they were in a hurry to knock off the small total.
Berbice continued to deal in boundaries until Chattergon hit Heyliger down to the long on boundary to bring up the 100. It came in the 14th over as the Essequibians looked helpless and hapless in the field.
The bowlers were completely impenetrable against Chattergoon who exploited their weakness with reckless abundance. To rub salt into the wounds Chattergoon punched Garraway though third man for four and no fielder moved.
In the 24th over when Berbice needed four runs to win Fudadin was bowled by Garraway for 25 which included four boundaries. In the next over however, Deonarine stroked the same bowler through cover for four to record the eighth wicket win for Berbice in just 24-3 overs.
