THANKS to man- of- the- match Jason Sinclair’s resilient innings coupled with his superb glove work behind the stumps, host team Rose Hall Town Bakewell (RHT Bakewell) defeated their nemesis Albion Cricket Club (ACC) by 56 runs at the Area ‘H’ ground yesterday, to take the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) organized New Building Society (NBS) sponsored second division title yesterday.

Winning the toss and opting to bat first in hazy conditions and on a track that could have been compared to the Sahara Desert,  the home team rattled up 181 for 9 from their 40 overs, with Sinclair being the highest scorer with 48 (2×6, 2×4).
He added 42 for the third wicket with Arif Chan (05) and received support in the batting department from Michael Hicks 31 (6×4), Jamal Davis 28 (2×6, 2×4) and Nicholas Cameron 26 (2×4), while the ACC bowlers give away 21 extras, even though Sharaz Ramcharran took 3 for 27 and David Latchaya 2 for 29.
Ramcharran returned to top score for ACC with 36 (2×4), while Latchman Bisham made a whirlwind unbeaten 24 at the bottom of the innings, that was decorated with three fours and Veerapen Permaul chipped in with 21, but it was not enough, as the home team bowlers restricted ACC to 135 for 8 from their 40 overs.
Having failed with the bat when RHT Bakewell batted, Eon Hooper returned to take 3 for 14 from 8 overs of off spin and got support from his skipper Ravi Narine who took 2 for 32.
At the brief presentation ceremony that followed, Public Relations Officer of the BCB Hilbert Foster applauded both teams for their excellent showing of discipline during the day’s action, while he said the BCB is looking to complete at least 25 tournaments at all levels this year.
He sent a warning to all second division teams in the Ancient County by saying next year’s tournament would have only one first division player competing per team, as the BCB looks at further developing the sport in the County.
NBS’ Rose Hall Town branch manager Rana Persaud expressed his gratitude to both finalists and the BCB, while he said his Company is pleased with the work of the BCB who organized a tournament that had a smooth flow despite being the largest of its kind in the country and pledged their support to assist with the further development of cricket in Berbice.
Sinclair got a trophy as his man- of- the- match spoils, while RHT Bakewell pocketed $60,000 and a trophy and ACC $30,000 and all other zone winners of the tournament along with the batsman who scored the highest individual score-Sinclair and Jailall Chandilall with 131 each- and the bowler with the best bowling performance Shabeer Khan who took 6 for 10 against Number 71 Vikings, were rewarded.