… Brushie XI upset Tarmac ‘A’
THANKS to West Indies T20 all-rounder Christopher Barnwell’s pugnacious half-century, Pitbulls sent Tarmac All-star ’B’ packing from the Kares Engineering/Bushy Park Sawmills (KEBPS)-sponsored nationwide 10/10 tapeball tournament last Saturday. On the same day which saw matches being contested in the Georgetown zone at the Ministry of Education ground on Carifesta Avenue, Brushie XI upset the mighty Tarmac All-star ‘A’ to join Pitbulls in the next round.
In the first match of the day, Pitbulls defeated the Guyana Post Office Corporation XI by 53 runs, after making 129 for 4, with Suresh Boodhoo top-scoring with an unbeaten 47 (6×6, 1×4), while Richard Latiff struck four sixes in his 26 and Barnwell two sixes in his 19.
GPOC XI could not come to grips with the Pitbulls’ bowling attack and were limited to 76 for 4 from their 10 overs, with Roxroy Smith and Boris Gordon contributing 22 and 13 respectively.
Up next for the powerful Pitbulls, whose lineup includes national wicketkeeper/batsman Derwin Christian along with Jamal Hinckson, Dennis Quires and Trevor Benn, were the Tarmac All-star ‘B’ team.
Opening the batting for his side, Barnwell who was watched by Chief Executive Officer of KEBPS Radesh Rameshwar, missed out on what would have been an entertaining ton, as he smashed 13 sixes and two fours in his 98 before he was caught at mid on.
Sookhoo chipped in with an unbeaten 30 (4×6, 1×4) while Christian struck three sixes and one four in his 27, as the Pitbulls raced to 191 for 5 from their 10 overs.
When Tarmac All-stars ‘B’ replied, Devendra Lall showed some fight by hitting three sixes and the same number of fours in his unbeaten 36 and received support from the dreadlocked Ron Fraser who struck four sixes in his unbeaten 34, as their team reached 98 for 3 when their overs expired.
After posting what was considered to be a modest total of 95 for 3 off their allotted overs with N. Khan’s innings of 50 being the top-score, Brushie XI restricted Tarmac All-star ‘A’ to 94-4 when the overs expired to win by one run in a nail-biting finish.
The highly touted Tarmac ‘A’ had earlier disposed of Kingston by a whopping 52 runs, but found a determined Brushie XI a more formidable foe and were eventually knocked out of the competition, much to the surprise of many who gathered at the venue.
In other results for the day, Tarmac All-stars ‘A’ crushed Kingston by 80 runs, after making 115 for 2, with Kenroy Cox hitting 63 then dismissing their opponents for a paltry 35.
Cargo Flighters beat Transporters by 3 runs with Cargo Fighters making 65 and dismissing Transporters for 62, Kaikan Cosmos defeated Felix Austin Police College (FAPC) ‘A’ by 22 runs before losing to Cargo Fighters by 4 runs.