(Compliments of Akbar Trucking Service)
A MISERLY spell of left-arm spin bowling from Sauid Drepaul guided Demerara to a comfortable 54-run victory over Essequibo in the first match of their Guyana Cricket Board (GCB)/El Dorado-sponsored senior Inter-county limited overs tournament at the Anna Regina ground yesterday.

Essequibo won the toss and in hazy conditions asked Demerara to take first strike and reduced them to 247-9, with Leon Johnson and Rajendra Chandrika leading the way with 41 each against the bowling of Ryan Hercules who took 3-30 and Trevor Benn 2-48.

When the home team, who continue to struggle at this level of the game in Guyana despite solid foundations from either their batsmen or bowlers began their reply, they got a positive start from Norman Fredericks (41) and his sibling Ryan (27) who posted 79 for the first wicket, but they still crumbled to 193 from 46.5 overs, as Drepaul took 5-43.

When Demerara batted, Chandrika and Shemroy Barrington (25, 1×4, 1×6, 30 balls) added 48 for the first wicket from exactly eight overs, with the latter starting things off by hitting Garraway back over his head for four, while Chandrika drove both Garraway and Benn through extra cover for boundaries of his own.

When Garraway delivered a short delivery to Chandrika, he could only watch as the diminutive right-hander hammered it through the cover point area with disdain for four to push the score to 40-0 in the seventh over.

Essequibo reaped success when Barrington who had lofted Benn over long on for the first maximum of the match, holed out to Garraway at midwicket off the next delivery and was quickly followed by Christopher Barnwell (2) who could not get his bat inside the line from a delivery from Ryan Hercules and presented wicketkeeper Geewan Singh with a regulation catch to leave Demerara on 57-2 in the 11th over.

Johnson joined Chandrika and they repaired the damage done by Benn and Hercules with some positive running in-between the wickets along with the odd boundary, with Chandrika hitting Benn for four through point, after surviving a confident appeal for lbw the previous delivery.

The introduction of spin in the form of Andrew Williams and skipper Ramesh Narine not only saw a boundary drought appear but also the demise of Chandrika, who presented the former with a simple return catch off his second ball, in his attempt to turn a delivery through the vacant midwicket area.

All told, Chandrika faced 60 deliveries and struck six fours, adding 34 with Johnson for the third wicket.

Gajanand Singh (18) joined Johnson and as he was looking to settle in while displaying a positive running attitude, he failed to regain his ground from a direct hit by Narine, who was stationed at point after being sent back by Johnson at 114-6.

Johnson found a useful ally in Steven Jacobs who displayed an aggressive attitude in his 37-ball 36 which was decorated with three fours and a big six hit back over the head of Garraway, before he lost Johnson who was caught by Norman Fredericks running around from cover to extra cover off Benn.

The two had added 56 for the fifth wicket from 10.2 overs, with Jacobs driving a well-pitched up delivery from Garraway back past him, immediately after hitting him for six, whilst both he and Johnson took boundaries off Benn.

As the overs began to lessen for the eventual winners, they lost wickets regularly including Jacobs who was caught by Benn at short third man when he attempted to cut a short delivery from Hercules, quickly followed by Krishna Deosarran who made eight.

A 43-run eighth wicket stand between skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan, who batted at number eight and scored a run-a-ball 29 with one six struck over midwicket off Royan Fredericks, and Zaheer Mohammed who also struck Williams for a maximum in his 20, guided Demerara to their eventual total with Drepaul and Joseph Perry being the not out batsmen on five and two respectively.

When Essequibo began their reply, the home fans who turned out in their hundreds to offer support, saw a solid start from the Fredericks siblings, with Norman displaying a no-nonsense mood against the bowling of Barnwell and Deosarran.

Norman hit Deosarran back past him for four followed by a six over wide long on off Barnwell, then watched as his younger brother Ryan also hit Deosarran back over his head for a boundary, as Essequibo raced to 30 without loss in the hunt for 248 from 47 overs after being penalised for a slow over rate while in the field.

After seeing Jacobs grant his brother Royan a life on the sweeper boundary off Barnwell when he was on 20 at 63 without loss in the 14th over, Norman added salt to the wound with an injudicious cut through point off Drepaul.

But that was to be the last hurrah for Essequibo, as Drepaul snared the first four victims for his team, deceiving the Cinderella County batsmen with his guile and flight through the air on a pitch which was keeping low and at the same time, offering tremendous assistance to the slower bowlers.

Norman Fredericks was caught  by Sarwan at midwicket for his top score of 41 made off 51 deliveries and decorated with four fours and one six at 79-1 and was followed by his sibling Royan who was bowled by Drepaul four balls later for 27, to leave Essequibo on 80-2 in the 18th over.

Mahendra Boodram (5) and Yogeshwar Lall (10) were caught by Perry and bowled by Drepaul respectively, which left Essequibo on 108-4, before Dillon Heyliger who struck one six in his 22 before he was run-out by Sarwan and Narine added 34 for the fifth wicket.

Heyliger displayed his ability to hit the ball hard to the three senior national selectors present at the game, when he sent Drepaul crashing over wide midwicket for six, while Narine pulled a short delivery from Sarwan to long leg for six.

The boundaries dried up as the spin of Mohammed and Drepaul operated in tandem once again, as they did in the four-day encounter played at the same venue last week and it was from this scenario, that Demerara got the wicket of Heyliger who was controversially ran out by a direct hit from Sarwan, who was stationed at cover, after being sent back by Narine.

142-5 became 143-6 when Jacobs (2-33) rocked back the off stump of a bewildered-looking Narine and when Hercules was caught by Sarwan at midwicket also off Jacobs, Essequibo were staring down the barrel of defeat at 152-7 in the 37th over.

Geewan Singh tried desperately to shore up the lower order but it was a little too late for the home team, as Garraway became Drepaul’s fifth victim, caught by Perry and when Benn was run-out attempting to take a cheeky second run from a leg bye in the final over bowled by Chandrika, they were 181-8.

Fortunately for Essequibo, Chandrika was experiencing pains in his right shoulder after bowling three deliveries and Sarwan turned to Barrington to complete the over and the discarded national opener did not disappoint, bringing both Singh and Essequibo’s innings to a close, when he had the former caught by Sarwan at midwicket for 30 made off 49 balls with one four struck through backward square off Drepaul.

Jacobs 2-33 and Barrington 1-2 offered valuable support to Drepaul for Demerara who will now face last year’s runners-up Berbice on Sunday at the Wales Community Centre ground, after the Ancient County team, led by Assad Fudadin, oppose Essequibo at Blairmont on Saturday.

DEMERARA innings
S. Barrington c Garraway b Benn 25
R. Chandrika c & b Williams 41
C. Barnwell c Heyliger b Hercules 2
L. Johnson c N. Fredericks b Benn 41
G. Singh run-out (Narine) 18
S. Jacobs c Benn b Hercules 36
K. Deosarran c wkp. Singh b Hercules 8
R. Sarwan c Boodram c R. Fredericks 29
Z. Mohammed c Williams b Narine 20
S. Drepaul not out 5
J. Perry not out 2
Extras: (w-16, b-2, lb-2) 20
Bowling: Garraway 7-0-55-0, Benn 10-0-48-2 (w-3), Hercules 7-0-30-3, Narine 9-0-37-1, Williams 10-0-44-1, Fredericks 7-0-29-1.

ESSEQUIBO innings
N. Fredericks c Sarwan b Drepaul 41
R. Fredericks b Drepaul 27
M. Boodram c wkp. Perry b Drepaul 5
Y. Lall b Drepaul 10
D. Heyliger run-out (Sarwan) 22
R. Narine b Jacobs 22
J. Singh c Sarwan b Barrington 30
R. Hercules c Sarwan b Jacobs 4
T. Garraway c wkp. Perry b Drepaul 6
T. Benn run-out 3
A. Williams not out 1
Extras: (b-1, lb-6, w-15) 22
Total: (all out) 193
Bowling: Barnwell 8-3-26-0, Deosarran 3-1-21-0, Jacobs 9-0-33-2, Mohammed 9-0-25-0, Drepaul 10-0-43-5, Sarwan 1-0-10-0, Singh 4-0-17-0, Johnson 2-0-7-0, Chandrika 0.3-0-3-0, S. Barrington 0.2-0-2-1.