A fine batting performance from Lower Corentyne Under-17 wicket-keeper batsman Rajesh Umrao saw his team scoring a 36-run defeat of West Berbice in their semi-final of the 2014 Republic Bank Under-17 Inter-Zone 50-Over cricket competition in Berbice to reach the final of the competition.
Played at the Bush Lot Ground, West Berbice in a match reduced to 35-overs-per-side because of a late start due to rain, Lower Corentyne posted 187 for 9 from their 35 overs courtesy of Umrao’s top knock of 86 which included six fours.
Rakesh Ragnauth (30), Adrian Sukhwa (17) and Daniel Samaroo (10) were the other players to reach double figures. Bowling for West Berbice, Berbice U15 left arm spinner Kris Ramnarine took 2 for 30 from seven overs.
In reply, West Berbice were restricted to 151 in their 35 overs with leg-spinner Brandon Prasad 2-16 and Samaroo 2-19 the main wicket takers. Titus Webster (18) and Randy Singh (15) were the top scorers during the chase.
Earlier, the eventual winners were given a start of 75 runs by Umrao and Sukhwa. Following Sukhwa’s dismissal,
Umrao added a valuable 48 runs for the fourth wicket with Ragnauth. When Umrao fell 14 runs short of his century, Ragnauth and Samaroo scored a useful 24 runs for the fifth wicket which took Lower Corentyne to their match-winning total.
West Berbice lost wickets cheaply with only a few of their batsmen reaching double figures. Shawn Smith (2),
Javed Karim (8) and Kris Ramnarine (11) struggled to get out of the blocks. A late thrust by Webster and Singh gave the team some hope but they both fell in quick-succession after adding 33 for the ninth wicket.
Defending champs Lower Corentyne, will clash with the other winning semi-finalist, New Amsterdam/Canje in the final which has been scheduled for Saturday at the Cumberland Ground in Canje.
