GCB U15 50-Over Inter-County
By Michaelangelo Jacobus
On a rain-hit day in the capital city, young gun Adrian Hetmyer’s 55 set the foundation for his Berbice U-15 side’s eventual 25-run victory over their Select XI counterparts at the Malteenoes Sports Club ground on Thomas Lands.
After heavy showers saw the second round match reduced to 20 overs per side, the Select XI won the toss and inserted the Berbicians to bat and found success fairly early as Arif Bacchus (8) was bowled by Ahil Hemraj in the third over. That brought the Berbice skipper, Hetmyer to the crease and he would stay there until the final over as he guided his side to 134/7.
From 18/1, Hetmyer forged valuable partnerships with opener Chamesh Seenauth, Sohail Mohamed and Lakeram Singh. First he put on 28 with Seenauth (22) before the latter became the first scalp of spinner Gilbert Griffith. At 46/2, Hetmyer was involved in a mix-up with Antonio De Paul who was run out for nought and suddenly Berbice were 47/3.
However, along with wicket-keeper batsman Mohamed, stemmed the fall of wickets and added 33 for the fourth wicket. Mohamed’s 21 before he was bowled by Danvir Seegobin, came off just 16 deliveries and was fairly entertaining with two fours and a six.
Singh joined Hetmyer and together they took their side to 129. Singh (15) would be run out on the last delivery of the 18th over as the duo pushed for an extra run.
Hetmyer, who would be on strike at the start of the final over, could not make it past the first delivery, and was bowled by a peach of a delivery from Griffith. The young Berbice skipper’s 55 came off 45 deliveries and included four fours and a maximum. Griffith would further add to his tally, having Arif Khan stumped for a duck.
The Berbicians ended their innings on 134 with Kumulchan Ramnarace Rafael McKenzie on 1 and 4 not out respectively. The wily Griffith would end with figures of 3/20 from 3 overs while Hemraj and Seegobin had a wicket apiece.
Needing 135 for victory, the Select XI’s openers just could not move out of first gear despite putting on a 54-run opening partnership.
Seegobin scored 22 while Ravid Fredericks made 21, both eating up an alarming 45 deliveries apiece. After Seegobin was run out, Fredericks combined with Rivaldo Perreira (25 from 15 deliveries) to take the Select XI to 83. By the time Perreira was bowled by Richard Ramdeholl in the 16th over, the asking rate was just too high as the Select XI needed 48 runs from 28 balls. From 83/2, the chasing side could only score 22 more runs, losing three more wickets along the way.
Arif Madramootoo was bowled for a four-ball duck by Ramdeholl, while Fredericks was run out for 21 and Joshua Charles (8 off 6 balls) was caught off the same bowler trying to accelerate having it two fours previously.
In the end, the Select XI ended their chase on 109/5 from their allotted 20 overs, 25 runs short of their target. Ramdeholl was the main man with the ball for the winners with 3/22 (4 overs) while Hetmyer received the man-of-the-match award for his effort with the bat.
Over at the DCC Ground on Lance Gibbs Street, the Demerara U-15s relied on their bowlers to strangle their Essequibo counterparts after their batters wasted a solid foundation from their openers.
Rain reduced the overs from 50 to 32 and after the Demerara skipper Emmanuel Lewis won the toss and opted to bat, openers Khush Seegobin and Parmeshwar Ram combined for 95 runs for the first wicket as the latter followed up his first round century against the Select XI with 51 (69 balls) which was punctuated by five fours and a six.
After Ram fell, Seegobin followed soon after for 49 (4sx4, 6sx1). From 95/1 in 18th over, Demerara lost 7 wickets for 54 runs to end on 149/8, wasting a solid start.
The Essequibo U15s run chase never got off the ground and they were bowled out for 82 in 17.4 overs with two batsmen absent due to injuries.
Heading into the third round, the Demerara side look like the frontrunners for the title but will have the Berbicians standing in their way.
The third round will be played on Thursday with Demerara taking on Berbice at DCC while the Select XI will be hoping for a win over Essequibo at Malteenoes.
