Chinaman spinner Joshua Charles, along with pacers Emmanuel Lewis and Samuel Barkoye, contrived to bowl out West Demerara U-15 for 52 inside 17 overs to engineer a commanding win for the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA), when the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) Inter-Association U-15 Championship commenced yesterday.
Staged at the Queen’s College ground, Thomas Lands, West Dem won the toss and elected to bat, a decision that backfired badly as only one batsman, their opener Parmeshwar Ram (18), would reach double figures with his teammates only managing 10 runs amongst themselves, the rest of their total coming in extras (22).
scoring 74 and taking 3/6 to lead East
Coast to victory over East Bank.
Four ducks told the sorry tale of their innings. Barkoye got things underway when he bowled Sankia Ramesh (4) and Dudnauth Singh (1) with West Dem at 14/2. Ram and Alwin Williams combined for the third wicket, taking advantage of extras to take their side to 36 when Ram was pried out LBW by skipper Emmanuel Lewis, with Joshua Williams following the very next delivery to the same bowler for a golden duck.
At 36/4, with the West Dem top order gone, up stepped Charles, who bowled an unorthodox left-arm spin. He quickly got down to work, trapping Alwin Williams (5) LBW while Lewis accounted for Kristoff Tracey (0). GCA’s Tilok Nanan then removed Navindra Krishna (0) while Charles got rid of the last recognised batsman, Nathan Puran (1), to expose the West Dem tail at 51/8. Charles struck once more, bowling Vickram Tiwarie for a duck before Reyaz Latif also got in on the action, having Isaiah Anderson caught by Nanan to end the West Dem’s horror innings.
Charles finished with the best figures among his peers, with 3/6 runs in three overs, inclusive of a maiden. Lewis also snared 3/8, while Barkoye had 2/20 from his five overs.
Needing just 52 for victory, West Dem’s Ram looked like he would make a game out of it yet as he removed GCA opener Ravin Singh and Khush Seegobin for ducks to leave GCA reeling with two down early for little runs on the board. However, GCA’s other openers, Nathan Bishop and Shamar Apple, struck up a partnership to guide their team out of trouble.
Bishop would end unbeaten on 21 (3x4s), while Apple would have his stumps rattled by Ram for 21 (1×4, 1×6). Emmanuel Lewis (1 not out) joined Bishop and got their side over the line inside seven overs with seven wickets to spare. Ram ended with 3/25 (4 overs) to cap a fine all-round performance despite his team’s subpar performance.
Speaking to Stabroek Sports in an exclusive interview, GCA’s Charles revealed that it was a great experience being able to contribute to his side’s win in their first match of the tournament. Asked about what he did right with the ball, Charles replied, “I just tried to land the ball in the right areas on a good line and length, and it did the rest.”
Meanwhile, in game two of the opening round at Lusignan on the East Coast of Demerara, the home team, the East Coast U-15s, destroyed their East Bank counterparts to win by 211 runs.
Batting first, East Coast amassed 273/4, with Munesh Outar scoring 74 (7x4s, 1×6) while Ravin Persaud made an unbeaten 72 (5x4s) to lead the batting effort. East Coast then, in turn, bowled out East Bank for 62 to claim victory. Only opener Dilshan Latchman (16) reached double digits, with Outar leading the way for East Coast, returning figures of 3/6 (3 overs), while Narindra Isurdeen supported well with 2/10 (5 overs).
The tournament continues today as the GCA hosts the Upper Demerara team at QC Ground, while West Demerara hosts East Bank at the Meten-Meer-Zorg Ground, West Demerara. For the second round, East Coast draws a bye.
