By Royston Alkins
East Bank handed West Bank a 10-wicket mauling while East Coast got the better of Georgetown by 99 runs when the Demerara U15 competition continued yesterday at the Everest Cricket Club ground, Camp Road.
East Bank chalked up their first win of the competition by brushing aside West Demerara on the back of a 170-run opening partnership between Mavendra Dindyal who made an impressive 78 not out and Chad Shivraitan who supported with an evenly attractive unbeaten 68. The two batted positively, running aggressively between the wickets while dispatching the bad balls.
Extras contributed 24 as East Bank, replying to East Coast’s 167-7, reached 170 without loss. Dindyal is putting up a good case for national selection with consistent performances. He also scored 98 not out and 82 in the ongoing Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) National Secondary Schools Cricket League (NSSCL).
Shivraitan, who played the supporting role, hit two boundaries and batted smartly by working the ball into the gaps with ease. Earlier in the day, West Demerara, sent in after losing the toss, lost two early wickets which brought together Andre Seepersaud (50) and Vishaul Persaud (33).
The two batsmen combined to post the first 100-run partnership of the day when they added 120 for the fourth wicket.
Wickets, however, fell in heaps after the partnership was broken and West Demerara could only muster 167–7 from their allotted 50 overs. Cameron DeFrietas grabbed 3 for 33 from nine overs bowling for East Bank while Alex Arinda supported with 2 for 23 from five overs.
In the other fixture, East Coast crushed Georgetown by 99 runs over at Ogle. East Coast won the toss and elected to take first strike. They chalked up 171 for 8 from their allotted 50 overs. Edmond Pearson batted aggressively to score 57 not out which included four towering sixes and three fours. He got support from opener Shoaib Shaw who made a patient 40.
Hemant Dalip took 4 for 30 off six overs. He was backed up by Zechariah Mootoo who took 2 for 15 from his full complement bowling for the city boys.
Georgetown, in their reply, never really got going. They lost wickets at regular intervals and were eventually skittled out for 72 in 27.3 overs. East Coast’s Devanand Khemraj had economical figures of 2 for 10 from his 10 overs to lead a strong bowling effort for his team. All the other bowlers chipped in with a wicket each.
