By Marlon Munroe
A menacing leg spinner and two stylish batsmen were the ingredients Berbice needed to restrict Demerara to a measly total and then ease close to taking first innings honours in the final round of the GTM three-day under-19 tournament at the Eve Leary Ground yesterday.

Overnight rain that curtailed play for more than half of yesterday added to a completely washed out first day did not prevent Demerara from being bowled out for 107 from 52.3 overs in less than a session after play started at 13:08 hrs. Leg spinner Shawn Pereira, who recently led the Guyana under-15 team in the regional 50-over tournament, troubled the Demerara batsmen with his turn and generous flight before returning figures of 5-18 from 12.3 overs. Pereira gained good support from his Captain Harrinarine Chattergoon, who snared 2-18 (12) bowling off spin.

Demerara’s right-handed opener Quincy Ovid-Richardson, number three batsman Shameer Fazal and the talented Kwame Crosse were the main scorers with 26, 19 and 14 respectively.

When Berbice batted they lost an early wicket when the score was 9, but a 77-second wicket unbeaten partnership took the team to 86-1 from 22 overs by the close when the batsmen accepted the light offered by the umpires. Chattergoon was undefeated on 54, an innings, which so far includes nine fours and an overhead six while his partner Dominic Rikhi was not out on 25 (2×4).

Pacer Darell Ross was the only Demerara bowler with any figure in the wicket column with 1-25 from his five overs. Ross accounted for the scalp of Mark Lionel who was caught behind by wicketkeeper Dexter Solomon for two.

When Berbice started their chase, cognizant that they needed an outright victory to lift the title, they started aggressively with the svelte right-handed Chattergoon playing an array of stylish shots, much to the enjoyment of the small crowd. But Ross, who worked up some pace at the beginning of his spell, broke the 9-run opening stance.

What resulted was a partnership worthy of emulation: Chattergoon muscled and timed the ball around the field; Rikhi caressed the ball into the gaps for the singles and the occasional boundary. Pacers Ross, Andre Stoll and Seon Daniels nipped away at the batsmen, in some instances moved around the ball off the surface but the batsmen played each delivery on its merit.

Chattergoon, who is the brother of out-of-favour West Indies opener Sewnarinare Chattergoon, drove Daniels down the ground and then whipped him off the pad through backward square for boundaries which prompted his captain to take him out of the attack. Rikhi joined the party when he gracefully drove left arm seamer Stoll through extra cover to leave the Demerara side searching for answers for the two unbridled batsmen.
The introduction of Demerara’s leading spinner leggie Amir Khan did not have muchof an  impact  especially since he bowled the googly too often. He bowled some that beat the edge and some that drifted but the batsmen responded by turning the strike over especially since they countered the spin by using their feet.
Chattergoon eventually brought up his half century in 72 minutes from 53 balls, nine of which were boundaries.

Earlier in the day, Ovid-Richardson seemed quite comfortable against the Berbicians before he was trapped in front by off-spinner Chattergoon after facing 35 balls and stroking three fours. But when his wicket fell at 45-2, Demerara lost two other quick wickets when the score was 50.

Pereira, whose bowling style closely resembles that of former Australian leg spinner Shane Warne, continued the slippery decline of the Demerarians. His variations were not easily read by the batsmen which made many of them play across the line and resulted in their team losing wickets frequently.