Despite rain affecting several matches on the opening day of the inaugural Georgetown Cricket Association/GTT Fibre T10 tournament, Lennox Andrews and Jonathan Van Lange both smashed half-centuries to highlight the day.
Van Lange ensured a bright ending to the day with a vital half-century that handed Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) a convincing win over Police Sports Club.
Police won the toss and inserted DCC at Everest, where they posted 123 for one from their full quota. Police responded with 81 for eight when their overs ran out, still 42 runs short of their target.
In his 32-ball innings, Van Lange struck six sixes and four fours during his unbeaten 72. He added 92 for the first wicket with Brandon Jaikaran who made 33 from 26 balls before he was caught and bowled by Kelvin Leitch. Jaikaran carved two sixes and a four before being dismissed. Extras bumped up DCC’s total by contributing 14.
In reply, Leitch returned to top score with 18 while Sheldon Alexander (15) and Kevon Boodie (12) were the only other batsmen to reach double figures. Kareem Whitney, Keron Thomas and Dexter George picked up two wickets each for DCC.
Also at Everest, the hosts defeated GNIC by eight wickets in a five-over clash. Asked to bat, GNIC managed 42 for two in their quota with David Dick top scoring with 24. Everest knocked off the target with four balls to spare as Assad Fudadin and David Williams made 27 and 11 respectively.
At Queen’s College, Police B romped to a 75-run win over Ace Warriors. Police posted 143 for two in 10 overs with Andrews top scoring with 75 not out. Chemroy Kendall made 40 as Dequan Wray took 1-21. Ace Warriors reached 69 for six. Tyrese Sealy and Trevor Benn took two wickets each.
Over at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Ground, the hosts managed to beat Bel Air Rubis by 10 runs after making 55 for two and containing Bel Air to 45 for two.
Zameer Nazeer (23) and Hakeem David (19) laid the foundation for GDF as they shared a crucial 43-run partnership for the opening wicket. Nazeer struck four sixes during his 13-ball cameo before he was stumped off of Mahendra Jeenarine (2-13). Bel Air’s only batsmen to get going were Irfan Ali and Rajendra Singh with 16 and 14 respectively.
In the second match at Camp Ayanganna, GDF, Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) defeated Agricola by eight wickets. GCC won the toss and inserted Agricola who posted 45 for four in their seven-over allotment. GCC then raced to 46 for two in 4.1 overs.
GCC’s captain, Ronaldo Alimohamed took 2-10 while his opposite number Idris Allen top scored with 20 from 19 balls after hitting two sixes. Shewbert Williams also got up to double figures, reaching 10 from five balls.
Mavendra Dindyal led the chase for GCC, hitting 30 not out from 14 balls. He cracked three sixes along the way.
Meanwhile, Transport Sports Club secured a two-run win over 4R Lions. Transport won the toss and took first strike, posting 98 for one in 10 overs. Lions reached 96 for five when their overs ended.
Adrian Hinds anchored Transport’s innings with 45 not out from 31 balls. He struck three sixes and four fours while sharing an unbroken 60-run partnership with Alvin Mohabir who made 34 not out from 23 balls.
Nizam Khan looked set to lead Lions to victory but fell one run short of a well-deserved half-century. His 21-ball innings was highlighted by six sixes. Seechand Budhu chipped in with 14 but Dave Mohabir kept Lions humbled after taking 3-14.
In the final match of the day, Malteenoes Sports Club got the better of Sophia by two runs.
Malteenoes mustered 39 for six in their six overs with Shaquille Moseley (16) top scoring and Keith Fraser taking two wickets for one run. Sophia reached 37 for five with no batsman reaching double figures. Fraser, Dwayne Peters and Extras all contributed nine towards the total.
