-B’ce triumph by innings and 371 runs
By Marlon Munroe
Spin twins Veerasammy Permaul and Devindra Bishoo combined to rout Essequibo for a paltry 77 and defeat to Berbice by an innings and 371 runs on the third day of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) senior four-day tournament at the Anna Regina ground yesterday.
Permaul took his second five-wicket haul (5-20) of the game to end with figures of 10-56 while Bishoo finished with 4-13 from 9.5 overs as Essequibo was dismissed in one session and 25.5 overs after the entire morning play was washed out.
Essequibo, who were bowled out for 105 in their first innings, started their quest to clear their deficit of 448 at 13:30 hours after Berbice declared at their overnight 553-8 from 91 overs.
Norman Fredericks started well driving pacer Brandon Bess through covers in the first over and then through mid off in his second.
But, a well-directed short, rising delivery from fiery Keon Joseph accounted for the wicket of Jason Heyliger (7) as the ball kissed his gloves on its way to wicketkeeper Anthony Bramble.
The introduction of Permaul brought almost immediate rewards as in the sixth over he had Fredericks caught by Devon Clements at midwicket for 10.
A promising partnership then commenced between Royston Alkins and first innings top scorer Navin Bahadur but the partnership was beginning to blossom when Alkins played an ill-advised slug sweep and found Bess at mid on off Permaul.
Bishoo, who did not bowl in the first innings, struck next when he had Delon Heyliger lbw for nought while Ramesh Narine hit a single to third man for one off Bishoo but was lbw the next over by Permaul with the score on 57.
Permaul struck twice afterwards to record his second five-wicket haul as Essequibo were shamefully placed on 68-9.
Number 11 batsman Trevor Benn hit Permaul for two boundaries through wide long on before Bishoo had Anthony Adams trapped lbw for zero as Essequibo were bowled out for 77 from 25.5 overs.
Coach of the Berbice team Adrian Amsterdam told Stabroek Sports that he was pleased with his team’s performance adding that his squad was looking to take away the four-day title. He said that their next encounter will be a good one and that Berbice will be looking to come out victorious.
When asked about the performance of Essequibo he said, “This is something that has been happening for years; they are showing no improvement and I feel the board should take some stand. Take them out or play two Rest Teams or something,” he quipped.
He said that he had seen a lot of young talent and it would benefit the Essequibo Cricket Board (ECB) to groom the youngsters in the under-15 and 17 ranks. He said that some of them are good enough to play at this level.
Captain of the Berbice team Assad Fudadin said that his team went into the game on a positive note knowing that they were going to emerge victorious.
He commended his players for playing as a team and not leaving, the burden on one or two players especially in the batting department, .
He said that will be a positive trait going into the match against Demerara on Tuesday adding that the players were confident and team spirit was excellent.
“We did not have our senior players coming into this game and most of the players knew that they had to do well and everybody came out performed and did not leave it to the next person and that paid off for us”, Fudadin explained.
When asked about the performance of the Essequibo team he noted, “Talent-wise they have raw talent but utilizing it I think they have to strategise and apply themselves more. Help would also have to come from the management, coaches on how to utilize that talent; they are not short of talent.”
Essequibo’s coach Alfred Maycock said that he was disappointed that his charges threw away their wickets and did not apply themselves in both innings. He said that he was not sure whether it was a lack of preparation- something his team did not have prior to the game since the team was assembled on the morning of the game.
“Tuesday we came here, the team was selected, there was no wicketkeeper and the captain was not there so we had to use the resources available and play the game. Anyway (Anthony) Adams came up with a five wicket haul in his first year at Inter-County.”
He repeated that he saw the talent in the inexperienced squad but their application was missing from this level of the game.
He is also of the belief that if the County doesn’t have a structured three-day programme the cricket will remain at an all time low especially since he remembered playing a higher level of cricket during his heyday.
Berbice now leads the tournament with 24 points from their two wins.
