GCB President’s Cup …
… Adams takes first five-wicket haul
Compliments of Medicine Chest and New Line Aqua Farm
NATIONAL middle-order batsman and Berbice’s skipper Assad Fudadin placed his team in a commanding position with his second double century against Essequibo, despite Anthony Adams’ first five-wicket haul at the end of the second day in their Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) President’s Cup match at the Anna Regina Community Centre ground yesterday.

Berbice resumed the second day on 128-1 with Fudadin (208) and Arthley Bailey (79) unbeaten on 48 and 43 respectively, in reply to Essequibo’s first innings score of 105, and ended the day on 553-8, thanks to Fudadin’s 208, Ranga Lachana 85, Arthley Bailey 79 and Anthony Bramble’s unbeaten 54.

The teenaged Adams ended with 5-109 and received support from former skipper Ramesh Narine who took 2-17, as all of Essequibo’s players on the field minus makeshift wicketkeeper Oyono Sampson, tried to bowl their team back into the game.

Fudadin, who shared a 196-run second-wicket partnership with Bailey, brought up his half-century from as early as his second delivery of the morning bowled by Trevon Garraway, which was cut through point for four, his sixth of the innings along with the two sixes he struck the previous afternoon, from 43 deliveries.

He celebrated in fine style with back-to-back fours through the slips cordon off Trevor Benn, followed by another four through extra cover and a six back over the head of the same bowler to complete the over, pushing his personal score to 76 and his team to 162-1, a lead of 57 runs.

A sedate looking Bailey got into the act with a well-timed four through point off the hapless-looking Benn, who was later struck over midwicket by the same batsman for two to reach his maiden half-century at this level from 108 balls, with eight fours.

After being dropped by Dillon Heyliger at slip off Benn, Bailey responded with an audacious extra cover drive for four, while a full-pitched delivery from national Under-19 fast bowler Ronsford Beaton was sent crashing for four through point by Fudadin, as Berbice consolidated their position against the home team.

Fudadin brought up his century with a drive through point for two off Dillon Heyliger, facing 100 deliveries whilst hitting 14 of them for four along with three sixes and followed it up with an audacious drive between cover and extra cover off Dillon Heyliger as Berbice moved to 231-1.

Bailey was not fortunate to record his maiden ton, as he was caught by Dillon Heyliger running around to point off Adams for a sedate but belligerent 79 made off 146 balls with 14 fours. But most importantly for Berbice he added 196 for the second wicket with Fudadin.

The quick demise of Homchand Pooran who went via lbw to Adams just before lunch, helped restore some pride to the home team who were already facing a 151-run deficit at that stage, with Fudadin leading the charge for his team, being unbeaten on 120 out of their 256-3.

A short ball from Adams was sent crashing to the backward square leg boundary by Fudadin, who punched Royston Alkins over extra cover for four to reach his 150 and at the same time post his team’s 300 in the 75th over of their innings.

Essequibo took the second new ball, after Fudadin had struck his opposite number Norman Fredericks over wide midwicket for his fourth six to move to 171 while Berbice progressed to 336-3 and a healthy lead of 231 with seven wickets in hand.

Ranga Lachana 85 (10×4, 1×6) joined Fudadin at the fall of Pooran’s wicket and took the attack to the opposition bowling, which lacked penetration, with two successive fours square of the wicket off Garraway, while Fudadin also had back-to-back boundaries off Benn.

Lachana continued to offer valuable support to Fudadin with two fours off Garraway, one of them being an audacious extra cover drive which beat Fredericks, Benn and Navin Bahadur who were in a semi-circle, on its way to the boundary.

He realised his 50 with his seventh boundary struck square of the wicket off Garraway, then watched as his skipper reached his second double-hundred in as many years against the same opponents, with an inside out four, his 26th to go along with the four sixes he struck, over extra cover, as Berbice reached 401-3 in the 93rd over of the innings.

Fudadin holed out to Narine at long off when he attempted to hit Adams somewhere into the nearby Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Anna Regina sub-annex for 208, made off 233 balls with 26 fours and four sixes, bringing his 171-run fourth-wicket partnership with Lachana to an end at 426-4, a healthy lead of 321.

Lachana continued where Fudadin left off, hitting Alkins over wide long-off for six, followed by a square cut through point for four off successive deliveries, as the Berbice free-scoring machine made its way to 446-4.

A mini confusion arose at the final water break during the day’s play, when on-field umpires Daverteeth Anandjit and Nigel Duguid left the field of play in protest over the unavailability of drinking water, while the opposition manager stated his team was not given any water until their dinner arrived the first night.

Play resumed 10 minutes later when an on-duty reporter bought the two men in charge of the game two bottles of juice, to which Lachana responded by hitting two boundaries off Alkins move to 85 before he was bowled by Adams, but not before Rajiv Ivan was caught by Jason Heyliger at deep cover off Adams for 7.

Berbice senior team debutant and national Under-19 captain Anthony Bramble cashed in on the runs donation that was on offer by the Cinderella County team, when he hit Adams over wide long off for six, followed by back-to-back fours en route to his maiden 50 from 56 deliveries with three fours and one six.

Needlessly for Berbice, they lost national spin twins Veerasammy Permaul 21 (3×4) and Devendra Bishoo (2), which left them on 544-9 and when the umpires thought it was too dark to continue play, Berbice were 553-8, a healthy lead of 448 runs with two wickets in hand.

Play will start at 09:30 h and Berbice who scored 425 runs from the 91 overs bowled on the second day play, will be looking to push for an outright victory against their opponents whose cricket is definitely in need of help.
ESSEQUIBO 1st innings 105
N. Bahadur 29, T. Garraway 23; V. Permaul 5-36, K. Joseph 2-37

BERBICE 1st innings
D. Clements lbw Garraway 9
A. Bailey c D. Heyliger b Adams 79
A. Fudadin c Narine b Adams 208
H. Pooran lbw Adams 3
R. Lachana b Adams 85
R. Ivan c J. Heyliger b Adams 7
A. Bramble not out 54
V. Permaul lbw Narine 21
D. Bishoo 7
Extras: (b-44, lb-17, w-11, nb-8) 80
Total: (for 8 wickets) 553
Fall of wickets: 1-45, 2-241, 3-255, 4-426, 5-448, 6-471, 7-542, 8-544.
Bowling: Garraway 25-5-87-1, Benn 14-2-68-0, Beaton14-0-51-0, D. Heyliger 12-2-40-0, Alkins 13-0-70-0, J. Heyliger4-1-17-0, Adams 31-3-109-5, Narine 5-1-17-2, Bahadur 1-0-2-0, Fredericks 2-0-31-0.