Foo, Motie and La Fleur spur Titans to top prize -Warriors claim third place
We are still the champions! The victorious orange clad Universal DVD Berbice Titans strikes a pose with their spoils and Chief Executive Officer of Universal Solutions and Universal DVD Store Vicram Seubarran (stooping at right). Coach Julian Moore is at left (blue jersey).
We are still the champions! The victorious orange clad Universal DVD Berbice Titans strikes a pose with their spoils and Chief Executive Officer of Universal Solutions and Universal DVD Store Vicram Seubarran (stooping at right). Coach Julian Moore is at left (blue jersey).

HARD- hitting Jonathan Foo along with left arm spin twins in Gudakesh Motie-Kanhai and Eugene LaFleur, turned up trumps for Universal DVD Berbice Titans, who defeated Universal President’s XI by 29 runs to take the ninth annual Universal DVD Club and Universal Solutions anniversary T20 festival last Saturday.Playing under the lights at the Albion Community Centre ground, after seeing Universal Warriors upset Universal Solutions Tigers to take third place, the Titans posted 128 for 3 off their 20 overs, after they won the toss and decided to bat first on a flat track.
Kandasammy Surujnarine topscored with 40 (3×4, 1×6) skipper Devendra Thakurdeen made 36 while Foo used 33 balls to score 35 (2×6, 1×4), after being given three lives, two of them in the penultimate over of the Titans’ innings.
In their turn at the wicket, President’s XI lost Brentnol Woolford and skipper Lloydel Lewis who were both dismissed without scoring to be 7 for 2, before LaFleur (2 for 14) and Motie-Kanhai combined to restrict them to 99 for 9, with the last man Suresh Dhanai being unable to bat for reasons unknown.
Surujnarine started positively in tandem with Joshua Ramsammy as his partner, by hitting Dhanai for 4, 4, and 6 in the third over of the Titans’ innings to push the score to 25 before he lost Ramsammy who was run out for 10 at 45 for 1.
Kandasammy was next to go, bowled by West Berbice’s Andrew Dutchin for his 40 that was scored off 34 deliveries at 76 for 2, followed by Thakurdeen who was dismissed at 103, but not before he too was given a life twice by Dhanai and Manoj Looknauth in the 17th over bowled by Shiraz Ramcharran.
Looknauth had earlier grassed a skier from Foo at long off, when he looked to hit Dutchin out the ground shortly after Surujnarine was dismissed, with Foo being on 3 at the time of the chance and the Titans 82 for 2.
The usually aggressive Foo looked sedate and only opened his shoulders in the final over to score 14 of his runs, including a six off the penultimate ball of the innings, as Dutchin and Ramoo ended with 1 wicket each for 13 and 17 runs respectively.
National fast bowler Raun Johnson and Romario Shepherd bowled the power play overs for the Titans with pace and aggression when the President’s XI batted, removing Woolford and Lewis to short deliveries that the batsmen fended off to be caught close at the wicket.
Dutchin and Keon DeJesus repaired the early damage by adding 28 for the third wicket, with DeJesus hitting Eon Hooper for four, before Dutchin was brilliantly stumped on the second attempt by Jason Sinclair off LaFleur.
DeJesus, who topscored with 35 (2×4) and Sherwin Murray (11) looked threatening during their 27 runs fourth wicket partnership, but with Albion being a spin friendly wicket and Thakurdeen offering Motie-Kanhai the ball in the 13th over, it was a matter of how soon the left hand spinner would strike on his home turf.
He was hit for four over extra cover by Murray, but rebounded to bowl the batsman with the final delivery of his first over, followed by the wicket of Ramcharran (03) in his next over, President’s XI 75 for 5.
When LaFleur knocked back DeJesus’ off-stump at 76 for 6, a wicket that was followed by Krisendat Ramoo (06) being run out by a direct hit from LaFleur and Motie-Kanhai’s removal of Looknauth (04), President’s XI were 82 for 8.
Linden Austin and Nicholas Cameron, who both made 8, looked to push their side past the 100 run mark, but Foo who was entrusted to bowl the final over, removed Austin who holed out to Ashkay Homraj at deep midwicket, leaving Cameron unbeaten at the other end.
In the third place encounter, Universal Warriors who were competing without appointed captain Royston Crandon batted first and scored 116 for 4, thanks to an unbeaten 33 from David Latchaya, 20 from Damion Vantull and 17 from Hakeem Hinds.
Steven Latcha was the best bowler for Universal Solutions Tigers with his 1 for 14, but when his side batted, their batting was decimated by former national Under-19 leg spinner Shawn Pereira snared 4 for 19 to bowl them out for 95 off 19.5 overs.
This was after they were coasting at 72 for 2, with skipper Anthony D’Andrade who topscored with 24 and Devon Clements 19 looking to steer their side home, a feat they never achieved as Pereira destroyed their middle and lower order with ease.
The female exhibition contest which whetted the appetite of the spectators who were also entertained by the X-Factor Dance troupe, saw the Tremayne Smartt led Firebirds defeating Shemaine Campbell’s Mean Girls by nine wickets in a one sided affair.
Steffi Rodney took 2 for 12 for the Firebirds, who in reply reached 69 for 1 from 16.4 overs, led by an unbeaten 27 from Latoya Smith, who had earlier bowled two maiden overs in the Mean Girls’ innings and 25 from Melanie Henry.
The individual awards for the day’s activities read: Man of the Match in the Finals-Foo, with Pereira taking the same accolades for the third place clash and Smith for the female encounter, while LaFleur was named Most Valuable Player, Foo-Best Batsman and Motie-Kanhai-Best Bowler.
For the win, the Titans took home $200,000 and a trophy, President’s XI $100,000 and trophy, while Universal Warriors and Universal Solutions Tigers received $50,000 each, with the Warriors being presented with the third place trophy.

(By Calvin Roberts)

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