DCB/SVC/Precision Inc Inter-Association T/20
By Michaelangelo Jacobus
The round-robin phase of the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB)/SVS/Precision Inc. Inter-Association T20 tournament concluded yesterday with the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) Panthers cruising to a 9-wicket win over the East Bank Eagles at the Demerara Cricket Ground on Lance Gibbs Street, Queenstown.
The Eagles won the toss and elected to bat but never got any sort of momentum going. Opener Ricky Sargeant again led the team with the bat, scoring 28 (24 balls, 4sx4, 6sx1), but aside from him, no one else had any real contribution of substance with only Damian Vantull (19), Shamar Yearwood (12) and Leon Swamy (12) reaching double figures. After the first wicket fell, Quzim Yusuf (5) caught by Ronaldo Ali Mohamed off the bowling of Carlos Larose, it started a trend with the rest of the Eagles batsmen losing their wickets regularly for low scores. By the 19th over, it was finally over, the Eagles bowled out for a paltry 104 (18.2 overs).
Left-arm orthodox spinner Devon Lord was on song capturing 4/17 from just 2.2 overs while off-spinner Steven Sankar returned impressive figures of 3/23 from his four overs with Christopher Barnwell (2/12) and Carlos Larose (1/16) accounting for the rest of wickets.
In response, Raymond Perez and Barnwell were brutal in the run-chase, getting home with 9-wickets in hand. Perez’s opening partner Shemroy Barrington fell cheaply in the first over after hitting Leon Swamy for a four off the second ball and a six off the fourth ball. However, Swamy would have his revenge the very next delivery, getting Barrington to nick behind to wicket-keeper Shamar Yearwood.
That would be the first and the last success for the Eagles bowlers as Perez and Barnwell tore into them.
The lithe right-hander Perez was especially harsh, smacking an unbeaten 43 (18 deliveries) which included three boundaries and four maximums at a strike-rate of 238.89. Veteran all-rounder Barnwell had an identical score with the same boundary count albeit his knock coming off of 24 deliveries.
For his all-round performance with bat and ball, Barnwell was awarded the man-of-the-match award.
The win meant that the GCA Panthers ended the round-robin phase unbeaten and are heavy favourites to win the title.
Earlier in the day at the same venue, the Upper Demerara Scorpions made a spirited effort to chase down the West Demerara Jaguars’ total of 187 but fell 17 runs short to finish their campaign winless.
The Jaguars won the toss and took first strike. Led by skipper Akshaya Persaud’s 43 (27 balls), Sheldon Alexander’s 45 (27 balls) along with handy cameos from Ushardava Balgobin (29) and Richie Looknauth (26), the West Demerara side compiled a challenging 186 but were all out in 19 overs. Balgobin and Persaud shared in a stand of 61 for the third wicket while Looknauth and Alexander combined for 70 runs in a sixth wicket partnership. The pick of the Scorpions bowling line-up was Nicholas Lawson who claimed four wickets but was expensive, conceding 50 runs from his four overs. Spinner Shaquille Williams snared 3/17 from 3 overs to support Lawson while Nichosie Barker and Myheim Khan took a wicket apiece.
In response, the Scorpions could not pick up the run-rate despite having wickets in hand as all-rounder Daniel Ross injected some late fireworks in the latter stage of the run chase.
Barker who opened the batting alongside Alvin Mohabir was sent back to the pavilion in the first over off the bowling of Mahendra Dhanpaul to leave the Scorpions at 10/1. Mohabir and Gariel McDonald then combined for a 31-run partnership before the latter lost his wicket to Dhanpaul.
Mohabir who made a spirited 35 (25 balls) was the next wicket to fall followed by Williams (20) and Khan (9) to leave the Scorpions in a funk at 84/5 in the 12th over.
Eventual man-of-the-match Ross then combined with Romeo Deonarain in an unbroken 85-run partnership as the two ran out of overs to fall 17 runs shy of the target.
Ross was entertaining in his unbeaten 55 (35 deliveries) stroking five fours and hitting three sixes while Deonarain made 31 not out from 24 deliveries.
Based on the points table after the round-robin, the GCA Panthers finished at the top with 8 points while the East Coast Canje Pheasants and West Demerara Jaguars had 4 points apiece. Sealing the last semi-final berth was East Bank Eagles who had a solitary win to end on 2 points.
The Semi Finals will be played today at the Meten-Meer-Zorg Ground and will pit the Panthers against the Eagles in semi-final one at 10 am while home team West Demerara Jaguars will clash with the East Coast Canje Pheasants at 2 pm.
After the finalists have been decided, next Saturday (January 20) will see the losers of the semi-finals in a third place play off at the Georgetown Cricket Club Ground at 9 am.
The grand finale is set for the same venue on Sunday (January 21) at 1 pm.
