NATIONAL Under-15 opener and captain of the East Coast Under-15 team, Brian Sattaur, massacred East Bank Under-15’s bowling attack on his way to a rampant unbeaten 112, as his team recorded a mammoth 116-run victory over their opponents at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground yesterday. Heavy overnight rain prevented a prompt start to the action and with the boundaries being waterlogged within five feet, the match got under way at 13:30hrs and was reduced to a 25-overs-a-side encounter.
Winning the toss and opting to bat first in the tournament, which was organised by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) with the consent of the embattled Demerara Cricket Board (DCB), East Coast who are the defending champions scored 217 for 4 from their 25 overs, before reducing their opponents to 101 for 8.
Sattaur led from the front with a pugnacious innings that was witnessed by president of the East Coast Cricket Board and vice-president of the GCB, Bissoondyal Singh. He took 47 balls for his first half-century, striking six fours and one six, while the second took him 23 deliveries to accumulate, hitting five more sixes and two fours.
All told, Sattaur who struck Sheldon Chitram for back-to-back sixes over midwicket and long on to reach his first half-century, hit nine fours and seven sixes in his unbeaten innings and received support from Sherfane Rutherford who made 31 (4×4, 1×6) while they added 78 for the third wicket.
The 15-year-old Sattaur took a liking to Chitram (1-62), hitting him for successive sixes once again, over midwicket and long on to race to 99 and after posting his century with a single to short midwicket, he opened his shoulders with another six over the Media Centre off Omar Persaud (1-22).
When East Bank batted, they struggled against the spin of Camroul Hookumchand (3-22) and Tevin Hart who took 2-16 and were held to 111-8 from their 25 overs, in which Daniel Barker top-scored with an unbeaten 35 (3×4). Chitram was the only other batsman to reach double figures with 14.
The action will continue tomorrow at the Lusignan Community Centre ground, where Sattaur and company will take on Georgetown from 09:30hrs, in what can be described as the ‘Clash of the Titans’ and also a rematch of last year’s final.