By Michaelangelo Jacobus
The Berbice U-19 side began their defence of the Guyana Cricket Board’s (GCB) U-19 Inter-County 50-over title with an easy 7-wicket win over their Essequibo counterparts yesterday at the Malteenoes Sports Club (MSC) Ground, Thomas Lands.
While the Berbicians won the toss and sent in the Essequibo side to bat, it was their star off-spinner Salim Khan who laid the foundation for the victory with his guileful off-breaks.
The Essequibo side began brightly enough as openers Rajindra Ramballi and skipper Shahid Vieira set what looked like a solid platform of 62 for the first wicket. However, it was a false dawn of epic proportions. When Vieira fell for 25 (50 balls, 4sx3) in the 18th over, it sparked a monumental collapse for the Essequibo side as the other 9 wickets could only add a further 46 runs.