Guyana All stars gave the thousands packed at the Albion Sports Complex ground what they came to see, a win by four wickets against Trinidad and Tobago Titans in the one-off, Cheddi Jagan Centenary Cup Saturday night.
Titans Captain, Lendl Simmons won the toss and decided to have a go first under the lights but it seemed to be the wrong decision early on as the Guyanese bowlers were simply unplayable.
Titans eventually reached 119-9 from their 20 overs but it was never enough.
Left handed batsman Kjorn Ottley was the first man back in the shed as right-arm pacer, Keon Joseph, running in from the club end ripped a faster delivery that was flicked high in the sky and Shimron Hetmyer settled under it at deep square leg.
Guyana Amazon Warriors’ latest buy, Romario Shepherd, impressed his new team’s management and sponsors who were all in attendance with arguably the ball of the night, a quick delivery that drifted ever so slightly away from the right hander and pushed back the off stump of Ewart Nicholson.
Guyanese, including two former presidents, jumped to the pulsating sounds of soca music as their team took control of the match with Titans tumbling at 4-36 and their skipper back in the shed.
However, big hitter Nicholas Pooran revived the innings with a crucial 61-run partnership with Mark Deyal. Pooran dispatched the bowlers to all parts of the ground including a commanding switch hit that saw the ball rocketing into the main pavilion to cap off his unbeaten 60.
In the All Stars’ innings, Anthony Bramble and Sherfane Rutherford looked to end the night early with boundaries racing to the fence every over as the pair brought up the 50 partnership in quick time but Rutherford fell soon after while Hetmyer didn’t spend long at the crease as All Stars looked to waste the good start with Bramble falling three runs short off his half century from a mere 27 balls.
Skipper, Leon Johnson and Christopher Barnwell added 20 and 13 respectively but departed as well, both falling to Deyal. But responsible batting from Richardo Adams (07 not out) and Shepherd (05 not out) saw the All Stars home.
