The Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) Panthers and the West Demerara Cricket Association (WDCA) have booked their spots in the final of the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB)/SVC/Precision Services Inc. Inter-Association T20.
The Panthers did so by virtue of a 69-run victory over the East Bank Eagles, while the Jaguars mauled the East Coast Canje Pheasants to win by nine wickets in their respective semi-final matches yesterday at the Meten-Meer-Zorg ground on the West Coast of Demerara.
First, the Panthers won the toss in the semi-final and decided to bat, getting off to a flyer courtesy of the dynamic openers Shemroy Barrington and Raymond Perez.
By the time Barrington was adjudged Leg Before Wicket (LBW) to Floy Joseph for 25 (18 balls) in the fifth over, he had given his side a quick start with his innings, which contained two boundaries and two maximums. With Barrington departing with the score at 31/1, the next over saw Adrian Hinds dismissed for 5 and caught behind off the bowling of Leon Swamy to leave the Panthers in some strife at 46/2. However, Perez, who was not his usual belligerent self, teamed up with veteran all-rounder Christopher Barnwell to halt the loss of wickets.
The duo put on 20 runs before Perez (23) was bowled by Ricky Sargeant in the 10th over. Barnwell soon followed for 19, and from that point at 77/4, the Panthers could not string together any sort of partnership, with only Jonathan Van Lange (20) passing double figures as the last six wickets fell for a paltry 56 runs.
Bowled out in 18.2 overs, the Panthers had Buddan Baksh (4/29, 4 overs) to blame for their collapse. He was well supported by Leon Swamy (2/31) and Anand Barrat (2/24). Sargeant and Joseph snared one wicket apiece.
With just 133 to defend, the Panthers found a hero with the ball in Dwain Dick, the right arm off spinner doing the job to book his side a spot in next weekend’s final.
Dick, who opened the bowling, didn’t have long to wait for success, trapping Quazim Yusuf for a duck from the fourth ball of the over. The in-form Ricky Sargeant and youngster Jeremiah Scott batted well to take their side from 1/1 to 34 in the fifth over.
Their hard work, however, was undone by the guileful Dick, who trapped Sargeant LBW for 28 (14 balls, 4×2, 6×3). From there, it was mayhem as the Eagles spiralled to defeat, losing their last eight wickets for just 30 runs.
Shamar Yearwood would be removed for a first-ball duck immediately after Sargeant’s dismissal, handing Dick his third wicket. Scott soon followed, caught behind off the bowling of Devon Lord in the very next over.
After Dick sparked the disintegration of the Eagles batting line-up, his teammates Steven Sankar (2/9, 2 overs) and Barnwell (2/1, 1 over) helped themselves to wickets. Sankar dealt the final blow by having Floy Joseph caught by Perez, who dismissed the Eagles for 64. Dick was named man-of-the-match for his 4/23 from four overs, inclusive of 16 dot balls.
In semi-final two, the home team, the WDCA Jaguars, mangled the Canje Pheasants, who won the toss and elected to bat. Their innings were painful to watch, as only Vishwanauth Ramlakan and Vivian Albert reached double figures with scores of 26 and 18, respectively. When Karamchand Persaud was run out for three in the 18th over, it was a merciful end to the Canje Pheasants innings at 89.
The chief destroyer for the Jaguars was Narendra Persaud, who took 3/10 (4 overs), while Aryan Persaud snared 2/13 (4 overs). Richie Looknauth, Navindra Persaud, Jamal Gomes, and Nkosi Major all got in on the act, taking a wicket each.
In reply, and needing just 90 for victory, Ushardeva Balgobin treated the Canje Pheasants bowling with disdain, belting four fours and seven sixes in his unbeaten 65 from just 24 deliveries. He was particularly brutal to the bowling of Vivian Albert, carting the first four balls of the eighth over for boundaries (6, 6, 4, and 6) as that over went for an eye-watering 24 runs.
The Jaguars suffered one casualty in their pursuit, as Navindra Persaud was caught off the bowling of Chanderpaul Hemraj for 16. Jaguars skipper Akshaya Persaud accompanied Balgobin to victory and ended on 14 not out, which included two maximums, one of which took his side to a comprehensive win in the ninth over. For his belligerent and unbeaten half-century, Balgobin was adjudged man-of-the-match.
The Jaguars will now face off with the Panthers next Sunday (January 21) at 2:00 p.m. in the final at the GCC Ground, Bourda, while the two losers from the semi-finals, the Eagles and the Canje Pheasants, will clash in the third-place decider on Saturday (January 20) at 10:00 a.m. at the same venue.
