Johnathan Foo’s 43 and Eon Hooper’s 4 wickets helped steer Upper Canje/Rose Hall/Albion to a comfortable six-wicket win over Georgetown in a low-scoring affair contested yesterday at the Port Mourant Ground, Berbice, when the ongoing Cricket Guyana Inc. (CGI) Local Franchise League (LFL) 50 over competition continued.
Foo, the former Guyana T20 power-hitter, struck three fours and one six in his 48-ball knock which was the highlight of the chase along with wicket-keeper Jason Sinclair’s 30 which took the Berbice XI to 126 for 4, replying to the 124 made by Georgetown.
The Berbice side now has a total of 38 points and are second on the points table behind finalist New Amsterdam who are well past 40 points, while Georgetown are in third place with 30.
Batting first, Georgetown, who won three matches from three games on the trot before Sunday’s defeat, were restricted to their lowest total in the tournament thus far after Hooper along with Joshua Ramsammy (1-21), Foo (1-12) Rajiv Ivan (2-25), restricted them to another low score, following their low-scoring match which they won against West Demerara played on Thursday at Bush Lot.
Opener Jetendra Sookdeo, who has recorded two half-centuries thus far scored 24 while Andrew Lyght Jr scored 19, wicket-keeper Kemol Savory chipped in with the top-score of 28 and former West Indies Under-19 batsman Kwame Crosse, a 45-ball 21 down the order which stabilized the Georgetown side.
Chasing a modest total on home soil, Upper Canje/Rose Hall/Albion raced to their target in 25.1 overs with Sinclair and Foo playing key roles.
Openers Loydell Lewis (08) and former National Under-19 all-rounder Sharaz Ramcharran had earlier added 47 for the first wicket before Sookdeo (1-21) and Raj Nannan (1-32) each produced deliveries which had both openers comprehensively bowled.
However, Sinclair and Foo had other plans for the low target required as the latter opened his account with a thumping shot over extra cover for four.
The 50 came up in 10.5 over and Sinclair was keen to rotate the strike but took advantage of the bad balls which he cashed in on, spanking five crisp shots for fours before he attempted a booming loft over extra-cover which failed to carry to the rope and was swallowed by Shemroy Barrington in the deep, giving spinner Devon Lord (2-53) his first wicket.
Left-hander Ivan came to the crease and sought to build a partnership with Foo who played well but was outfoxed by Lord who picked up his 14th wicket of the competition when he snuck one through the gate of the right-hander who missed another half-century score. Joshua Ramsammy (05*) and Ivan, who ended with 11 runs off nine balls, finished the game with a thumping six off Lord in the 26th over, taking his team to their fourth win of the competition.
Earlier, Georgetown managed to get off to good start, losing their first wicket at 47 runs before being shot down for their mediocre total, long before the lunch break. Sookdeo, the man in form was caught by Clinton Pestano off Ramsammy while Foo’s part-time off-spin accounted for the dismissal of Lyght. The Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) wicket-keeper Savory would attempted to negate the Berbice bowlers for some 81 balls before he was ran out by Pestano.
Shawn De Souza (07) and David Dick (02) were sent packing by Ivan’s left-arm spin while Crosse’s 45-ball knock was cut short by Hooper who knocked him over. Skipper Kellon Carmichael, who smoked a match-winning 45 from 19 in the last game was unbeaten on six as his team slumped to their lowest total thus far.
Both teams will play their last preliminary match today before heading into Thursday’s play-off for the finals which is set for Saturday against New Amsterdam under lights at the Albion Ground.
