A spectacular spell of spin bowling from Mohammed Jameer which resulted in a hat-trick, catapulted Georgetown Eco Champs to a 90-run win over Malteenoes Sports Club in the Georgetown Cricket Association/ Friends of Cricket U17, 100 overs tournament at the Guyana National Industrial Corporation (GNIC) Ground, Woolford Avenue Sunday.
With the weather in Georgetown conducive for cricket, Eco Champs mustered 142 all out in 34.3 overs and then dismissed Malteenoes for 52 in 19.1 overs.
Winning the toss and electing to bat on a wicket that provided variable bounce and turn, Eco Champs batted cautiously and found runs hard to come off the bat early.
They lost Mitra Danraj and Nickolas Rajpat to be 26-2.
However, a third wicket partnership of 44 runs proved to be the turning point of the game.
National under-17 all-rounder, Dwain Dick with the mindset of a five-over contest, dispatched the bowlers to all parts of the ground. He was particularly brutal on Wayne Bollers, hitting him for 15 runs in one over. Dick lasted 19 balls and notched up 38 runs, with four sixes and three fours before falling to Chad Shivrattan, holing out to long on going against the breeze.
With Dick back in the shed, the Malteenoes bowlers chipped away at the wickets and it was left to Dominic Roberts, coming in at nine to partner Daniel Roberts, the pair putting on 45 runs for the eighth wicket.
Roberts was bowled by the returning Kester McAllister for 29 with three fours and a solitary six which was flicked into the opposing Muslim Youth Organisation Ground off of Akeem Critchlow.
Shivrattan ended with 3-20 while McAllister, Critchlow and Bollers picked up two wickets each. Eco Champs were given their first break through with Veeraj Persaud edging Briyon Bowen into the hands of Rajpat behind the stumps. Dick accounted for Critchlow’s wicket who pierced the sky only to see Dick settle under the ball while a dropped catch resulted in the run out of Bollers to leave Malteenoes 28-3 at lunch.
When they resumed play, Daniel Roberts picked up two quick wickets including that of Shivrattan while Rajpat executed a stumping and also took a low catch before Jameer got into operation.
Jameer bowled set batsman and opener Wayne McPherson for 13, trapped Javed Troyer leg before wicket to end his third over and returned to bowl Brandon Butchie and complete his first hat-trick.
Jameer ended with 3-7 from four overs while Daniel Roberts (3-12) and Dick (2-10) were other wicket takers.
