Rain had the final say in an exciting encounter between Essequibo and East Bank as the umpires were forced to call time on the match ruling that the outfield was not suitable for play after the rains came 30 minutes before the luncheon interval on day – three at the Everest Cricket Club ground Camp Road yesterday.
The match was declared a draw with East Bank gaining first innings points over Essequibo who are still atop the points table.
East Bank, resuming their innings on 303 – 9, after earning a lead of 23 runs at the close, were dismissed for 312, 30 minutes into the day’s play after Darshan Persaud perished via the run – out route for 35. East Bank ended with a lead of 32.
Essequibo, searching for quick runs in their second innings, promoted Joshua Jones in a failed ploy which saw him being dismissed for two by his national under – 19 captain Ronaldo Ali – Mohamed with the score on 5.
First innings century maker Kemol Savory and Kevon Boodie then carried the score to 39, scampering between the wickets while also dispatching Ali – Mohammed for a few boundaries to repair the innings after the early loss.
The inclusion of spin, however, seemed to disrupt the flow and accounted for Boodie’s demise as he attempted an ill-advised shot to gift Totaram Bishun his wicket.
The rain came soon after, prompting the umpires to take an early lunch at 11:30 with Savory on 22 and Ricardo Adams on five and the score on 48 – 2, earning a slim lead of 16 runs at the break.
Persistent rain, however, had the final say and after the umpires decided that the outfield, especially the bowler’s run-up was not fit for play the match ended in a draw around 2:30 hours.
The encounter between Georgetown suffered a similar fate with rain preventing an outcome on the final day over at the Lusignan Community Development Centre ground.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Dexter Solomon and Christopher Barnwell posting second innings half centuries while off-spinner Gajanan Suknanan continued his impressive run, bowling for Georgetown. West Indies player Bhaskar Yadram was also in the mix, scoring a second innings century for East Coast.
Scores: Georgetown 192 – Christopher Barnwell 44, Robin Bacchus 36, Paul Wintz 34, Kumar Bishundial 4-60 and 244 – 9 – Solomon 84, Barnwell 62, Bhaskar Yadram 3-68 drawn with East Coast 137 – Rajendra Chandrika 45, Chandrapaul Hemraj 35, Gajanan Suknanan 4 – 40, Steven Sankar 3 – 8 and 192 – 2 Yadram 108 not – out, Chanderpaul Hemraj 54 not – out.
Meanwhile, West Demerara prevailed over West Berbice by 26 runs in a low-scoring affair at Tuschen as Gudakesh Motie put in another fine bowling performance despite his side’s defeat. Scores: West Demerara 110 – Akshaya Persaud 42, Tevin Imlach 39, Motie 6 – 17 and 126 – Ronaldo Renee 35, Tagenarine Chanderpaul 26*, Motie 5 – 25 defeated West Berbice 106 – Arthley Bailey 46, Avishkay Sewkarran 32, Keshram Seyhodan 4 -37, Romario Shepherd 3 -26 and 101 – Javid Karim 31, Shepherd 4 -41.
Lower Corentyne also recorded a third-round win over Upper Corentyne by 10 wickets at Albion. Veersammy Permaul claimed nine wickets in the match while Waheid Edwards missed out on a century.
Scores: Upper Corentyne 130 – Anthony Bramble 34, Permaul 6 – 49, Kassim Khan 4 -37 and 157 – David Latchaya 39, Balchand Baldeo 38, Raun Johnson 4 – 49, Permaul 3 – 42 lost to Lower Corentyne 263 – 9 – Edwards 89, Sean Hetmyer 49, Shawn Pereira 6 – 71 and 27 without loss.
