The Guyana Police Force (GPF) yesterday arrested the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), whipping them by seven wickets while Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) trounced Transport Sports Club (TSC) by 50 runs in the first round of the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA)/ Carib Beer T20 tournament.
Played at the Police Sports Club Ground Eve Leary, the double-header saw the first encounter between the two joint-service teams being reduced to seven overs-per-side due to time after a late start while the GCC/TSC match was played with the full allocation of 20 overs per team.
GCC welcomed the return of West Indies and Guyana middle-order batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan, who seemed to be fresh in his approach after taking some time away from the game following the inaugural Caribbean Premier League (CPL). Sarwan, however, fell to a good catch in the covers after scoring seven.
However knocks from Leon Johnson (31), Vishal Singh (25), Jeetendra Sookdeo, Robin Bacchus (17) and Elon Fernandes (15), propelled GCC to an imposing 144 for 8 in 20 overs. Bowling for Transport, Stephen Alves grabbed 4 for 20, Azim Azeez 2 for 19 while one wicket apiece went to Oslyn Batson and Jonathan Alphonso.
The in-form Johnson fresh off of a fruitful West Indies ‘A’ tour of India, opened his account with a huge six, complemented by three additional boundaries while Sookdeo and Bacchus each cracked three fours in their knocks.
Transport was then restricted to 94 for 7 thanks to Johnson’s part-time bowling which produced figures of 2 for 10, Bacchus’s medium-pace which saw him grabbing 2 for 20 while a wicket apiece went to left-arm spinner Raj Nannan and Chivlenan Shivram.
Resistance with the bat came from openers Ouei Proctor (18) and Charwayne McPherson (22), who sought to take the fight to the GCC bowlers early on in the innings. Ryan Hemraj (13) was the only other batsman to reach double figures, as the men from Transport never recovered from their early losses.
Earlier in the day, GDF, who scored 53 for 4 in their seven overs, was led by National player Dillon Heyliger who top scored with 35. Spinner Yatesh Dhanpaul 1 for 12 and pacer Seon Daniels 1 for 14 were the stand out bowlers.
In reply GPF cruised to 54 for the loss of three wickets with Rawle Browne top scoring with 19 after the early dismissals of big guns Kevon Boodie (0) and Randy Lindore (07) while Heyliger returned to pick up 1 for 7.
The action is set to continue in a week’s time following the scheduled opening games of the GCA Two-Day Noble House seafood sponsored tournament.
