THANKS to a belligerent ton from opener Nichosie Barker, Malteenoes Sports Club (MSC) mauled Ace Warriors by 302 runs, to seal their semifinal spot in the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA)-organised, David Persaud Investments-sponsored Under-19 cricket tournament on their home ground yesterday. Two other teams, namely Demerara Cricket Club ‘A’ (DCC) and St Stanislaus recorded victories over their opponents, while DCC ‘B’ and Gandhi Youth Organisation (GYO) played to a tense draw at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground.
At the MSC ground on Thomas Lands, the home team won the toss and, opting to take first strike against their opponents who fielded eight players for the contest, scored an imposing 404 for 4 declared from their 47 overs, thanks to Barker’s 170.
The opener, who was given a life early in his innings off Mortland Ward (2 for 84), struck 24 fours and four sixes and received support from Hakeem Davis who made 73 (9×4), Ray Peters 44 not out (5×4, 1×6) and Jamal Naughton 42 that included five fours.
When Ace Warriors batted, they fared better than the previous day when they were bowled out for 22 by DCC ‘B’, to reach 102 for 7 before their innings was closed, with Devindra Doodnauth 24 and Ward 16 being the only batsmen to reach double figures.
Vishal Narayan took 3 for 17 and Shaquille Moseley 2 for 17 for MSC, who with the win topped group ‘A’ in the tournament and at the same time booked a semifinal place against DCC ‘A’, who had recorded a victory over Third Class in their encounter.
Playing at the Guyana National Industrial Corporation ground, Third Class were asked to take first strike and found themselves tottering on 56 for 8 before they were bowled out for 120 off 31.1 overs.
Samuel Fraser struck three sixes to topscore with 34 and received valuable support from Wendell Harry 29 (2×4, 1×6) and Shawn Garnett’s 20 that included four fours, which helped revived their team’s innings, against the bowling of Orlando Sturge and Alistair Fields who took four wickets each for 20 and 27 runs respectively.
When DCC ‘A’ batted, they lost Tevin Imloch (0) in the first over, but thanks to a responsible 73-run second-wicket partnership between the Rupee brothers in Sunil and Khemraj, they reached 121 for 4 from 26.2 overs, after being given 62 overs to reach their target.
Sunil Rupee topscored with 42 that included six fours and two sixes while Khemraj struck the same number of fours in his 30 and along with Andrew Gibson’s unbeaten 16 (2×4), guided DCC ‘A’ home, even though Shaquille Leung threatened with the ball, as he picked up 2 for 15.
At the Everest Cricket Club ground, St Stanislaus shocked Transport Sports Club (TSC) ‘A’, to come away with a seven-wicket victory.
TSC batted first and were bowled out for 123 from 28.4 overs, of which Joshua Ram made 35 and Ewart Samuels 21. They lead the batting against the bowling of Linden Wilson and Rajiv Deonarine who took 4 for 30 and 2 for 14 for St Stanislaus.
When the eventual winners batted, they were indebted to Prince Roberts who made 45 and Deonarine with 33, as they reached 127 for 3.
At the world-renowned Georgetown Cricket Club ground, DCC ‘B’ batted first and were bowled out for 187 in 52 overs by GYO, with Kemal Savory leading the way with 64 (3×4, 2×6) and he got support from Xaviee Smith who made 29 (3×4), as they added 58 for the fifth wicket.
Shivnandan Roopnarine, who was later dismissed off the first delivery when GYO began their reply, took 4 for 35.
However, the Woolford Avenue-based GYO lineup said a heartfelt thank you to Ryan Shun who made a patient 63 (2×4) before he was run-out and Garfield De Rouche with his resilient and unbeaten 13 which ensured they negotiated the pace/spin combination of DCC ‘B’, to hold on for the draw.
Meanwhile, in matches played the previous day (Monday), MSC defeated St Stanislaus by seven wickets, after bowling out their opponents for 70 in 20 overs of which S. King made 24 against the bowling of Naughton (3 for 19), Shaquille Williams (2 for 5) and Steve Sankar who took 2 for 9 and replying with 71 for 3 in 18.1 overs.
At the GYO ground, Everest defeated the home team by four runs, after being bowled out for 119 inside 26 overs with Shane Rutherford topscoring with 48 against the bowling of Mark Hamilton who took 5 for 27, W. Harun (3 for 7) and P. Persaud who took 2 for 8, while Christopher Surat took 4 for 35 for Everest, who bowled out their hosts for 115 in 42 overs to complete the win.
At the DCC ground, DCC ‘B’ bowled out Ace Warriors for 22 in 9 overs, thanks to Balgobin’s 4 for 15 and replied with 27 for 1 from one over, with Savory hitting an unbeaten 22.
The other contest between DCC ‘A’ and TSC ‘B’ did not materialize. The former won by a walkover, as the latter found it difficult to field a team when the umpires called play.
The semi-finals will be played tomorrow between GCC who will host DCC ‘B” at Bourda and DCC ‘A’, who will journey to Thomas Lands to take on MSC with the final being set for Sunday September 9 at a venue to be named shortly.