By Delvon McEwan
Demerara recorded their second win in as many matches in the 2015 Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Under-17 Tournament as they thumped newcomers Guyana Under-15 by 142 runs yesterday at the Police Sports Club ground, Eve Leary.
Batting first, the defending champions raced to 252-6 in 40 overs after three batsmen – man of the match Raymond Perez (73), Joshua Persaud (54) and skipper Ronaldo Ali-Mohamed (59 not out) – scored half centuries. The U-15 unit then struggled to reach triple figures and eventually ended on 110-9 in their allotted 40 overs with skipper Ashmead Nedd scoring a fifty.
The match commenced two hours after its scheduled start to allow President Donald Ramotar, newly appointed Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud and other officers of the Guyana Police Force an opportunity to take a photo on the field to mark the opening of the Police Officers’ Annual Conference.
After the delay, it seemed as though Demerara’s openers, Perez and Persaud were eagerly waiting to get off their mark as they quickly added 139 for the first wicket. Perez was the aggressor smashing nine fours before getting out while Persaud, who played the supporting role, accounted for five fours and a solitary six.
When the openers were removed, the host suffered another quick setback, slipping to 144-3 before Ali-Mohamed joined forces with Gavin Boodwah (16) to add 36 for the third wicket. Ali-Mohamed batted with some flair as he muscled the ball around the ground and was dominant in a solid fifth wicket stand worth 59 runs with Ramnarine Chatura (17).
The skipper in a similar fashion as he did for Guyana U-19 in the 2014 Regional tournament, clobbered four huge sixes and three powerfully struck fours before Demerara’s innings ended. Kevlon Anderson was the most effective bowler for the U-15s, capturing 3-37 from eight overs.
Later, the national side was off to a poor start, losing its first six wickets with just 40 runs on the scorecard. However, Nedd’s entrance added some pride to the younger lads’ response as he stroked a mature unbeaten 52 from 68 balls. Saving his side from being dismissed, Nedd batted responsibly as he looked a cut above his peers. He added 43 with Dequan Bamfield (07) who was the next best scorer for his team.
The all-rounder Nedd, who was the only batsman in his team to reach double figures, brought up his milestone when he managed to get a boundary off the penultimate ball of his team’s innings.
Darshan Persaud 3-11 from eight overs and Kelvin Shewpersaud 2-11 also from eight overs were both effective and economical with the ball for Demerara.
Across at the Everest Cricket Club ground, Berbice defeated Essequibo by 131 runs. After taking first strike, Berbice made 229-8 in 50 overs, with Kevin Sinclair – 63 and Steve Deonarine – 48, their principal scorers as pacer Joshua Jones got three wickets. Essequibo was restricted to a paltry 98 in 31.1 overs.
Sinclair returned with the ball to claim 5-5 to complete a good all-round match while Kevin Christian (22) was the only batsman from the Cinderella County to past 20.
The tournament continues tomorrow with leaders Demerara tackling Berbice at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) ground and Guyana U-15 facing Essequibo at the Police Sports Club ground.
