Diamond Cricket Club yesterday won the 2011 Saskia Investment Trading and Ice-Parlour sponsored East Bank Cricket Association limited overs competition after securing a 31-run victory over association rivals North Soesdyke in the final at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) ground.
Diamond skipper Terrence Sukhu won the toss and elected to take first strike on a surface which seemed good for batting. Openers Imran Hussain and Amir Azeez took advantage of the conditions, with a 50-run opening partnership, before the heavens opened up and reduced the game to a 32-overs-a-side contest.
Diamond eventually reached a competitive total of 160 for 8 of their allotted overs with Azeez top scoring with an aggressive 49.
The wickets were shared by Jermaine Griffith, Rakesh Gangaram and Dennis Mangru who each claimed two wickets for 38, 17 and 24 runs respectively.
The North Soesdyke innings never truly got going as they lost wickets at regular intervals and struggled to stay abreast with the required run-rate. They were eventually dismissed for 129 in the penultimate over of the innings.
Opener Ottis George top scored with 33, while eventual player of the match Amanath Debedial with figures of 3-22 was the chief destroyer for the Diamond side.
At the presentation ceremony East Bank Cricket Association officials expressed delight with the final but expressed the hope that future district finals could be played at venues on the East Bank, instead of Georgetown. The respective captains Terrence Sukhu (Diamond) and Ronald Jaisingh (North Soesdyke) also expressed gratitude to the sponsors and said they hoped to continue the rivalry between Diamond and North Soesdyke.
