As the Guyana Cricket Board/Tropical Springs Over-40 T20 tournament bowled off yesterday, West Berbice Masters, Jai Hind Masters, WD Mavericks and Bel Air Rubis Ultra Tech recorded first round wins while rain washed out matches at the Everest Cricket Club and Imam Bacchus Grounds respectively.
In the Berbice Zone at the Jai Hind Ground, the hosts secured a comfortable 20-run victory over General Marine Masters in the opening fixture.
Jai Hind won the toss and opted to bat first after a soft run-up forced the game to be reduced to 15-overs-per-side.
Jai Hind recovered from 17 for four to go on and post a respectable 140 for six from their allotted overs.
General Marine in reply, found the target a formidable one and were contained to 110 for three when their allotted 20 overs ended.
The hosts were crippled early on as 50-year-old Winston London returned a hat trick with his military medium pace. He finished with the excellent figures of 3-8.
After London’s three over-quota ended, Kamraj Sumir and Zahir Moakan added 85 runs for the fifth wicket. Sumir batted impeccably for his 58, laced with six sixes and two fours while Moakan showed his class with an unbeaten 40, decorated with two sixes and three fours.
General Marine were kept relatively quiet with only Diaram Hemraj, who played a lone hand, had a decent score.
He made 41 not out from 35 balls. Mustark Shaw and Surujpaul Mohan chipped in with 18 and 17 runs respectively.
Successful captain, Veerapen Moonsammy told Stabroek Sport his side was in a bit of a tough spot after London’s hat-trick but the partnership between Moakan and Sumir turned the match around. Moonsammy said that 140 was a good score on the wicket.
In the afternoon’s match, West Berbice Masters pulled off a 16-run win over Sarjoo Tigers in a low-scoring affair. West Berbice won the toss and opted to bat and was dismissed for 85 in 16.3 overs. In reply, Tigers were bowled out for 69.
Gopaul ‘Teddy’ Dindyal roared for Tigers with four for seven while Mark Ferriera picked up two for 10.
Only Rajban Hemraj (18) and Jaipaul Hiralall (10) reached double figures.
The star-studded Tigers batting line up could not live up to expectations with only Tajram Ramroop showing any fight with a top score of 20. Trevor Crawford ripped through the middle order with figures of four for eight. He was supported by Julius Nurse who bagged three for eight.
Tigers skipper, Sanjeev Datadin, reckoned that at the half way stage, his side had done well to contain West Berbice to under 100 as he felt 105 was par-score. The captain indicated that playing in the afternoon proved difficult.
Datadin reasoned that today’s game against Jai Hind will be crucial since a win is required for them to progress into the quarter final.
Over on the East Coast at the Enmore Community Centre Ground, WD Mavericks secured a 21-run win over RP Construction Legends. Mavericks posted 94 for six from their 15-over allotment and managed to keep RP Construction from reaching the target.
Lalta Sukhnanan top scored with 40 and added 48 for the second wicket with Marishram Balgobin (34). In the chase, Khaled Mohammed played the lone hand with a top score of 31 before being stumped. Nigel Vieira picked up two for 10.
In the final affair at Enmore, Bel Air Rubis Ultra Tech inflicted a 92-run defeat over Sand Piper Masters.
Batting first, Bel Air Rubis posted 149 for four with Richard Ramdeen top scoring with 59, highlighted by three sixes and two fours. He was supported by Nirmaldeo Sarwan (38). Arthur Duke (3-17) and Shaun Massiah (2-4) rolled back the years with the ball as only Dave Singh and Alvin Charran reached double figures.
Today’s action will see Jai Hind hosting Tigers in the morning while General Marine will face West Berbice in the afternoon. At Enmore, KV Construction face WD Mavericks and WD Masters battle Bel Air while at Everest, Everest Masters host Regal Masters and Sand Pipers clash with RP construction.
