OUTSTANDING spin bowling from national junior cricketers, Arif Chan and Gudakesh Motie-Kanhai, led Lower Corentyne to an easy 10-wicket victory over New Amsterdam/Canje in the two-day final of this year’s Berbice Cricket Board/Diamond Fire and General Insurance Under-19 Inter-Zone tournament at the Cumberland ground.

The Lower Corentyne’s victory denied New Amsterdam/Canje a hat-trick of titles after they had earlier this year won the Under-15 and U-18 tournaments that were organised by the BCB.
Batting first after winning the toss, New Amsterdam/Canje were bowled out for a meagre 53 in 33.5 overs with only opener Leon Andrews reaching double figures with 11.
Lower Corentyne opened their bowling with spinner Sharaz Ramcharran and Motie and set back the host immediately when the in-form national Under-19 opener Shimron Hetmyer, was dismissed in the second over for one.
Motie took 6 wickets for 20 runs from 16.1 overs of impressive spin-bowling while Chan took 4 for 10 from 9 overs for Lower Corentyne, who in reply batted out their allotted first innings quota of 65 overs and ended on 148 for 9 to have a first-innings lead of 95 runs.
Ramcharran top-scored with a responsible knock of 38 not out from 154 balls and received support from Shailendra Shameer 30 and Devin Baldeo 20.
Facing a deficit of 95 on the first innings, New Amsterdam/Canje fared a little better in their second innings as Martin Singh batted well to top-score with an attacking 55 (7×4, 2×6) off 58 balls but only received support from Hakeem Hinds 15 and Suresh Dhanai 12, as the hosts were bowled out for 102.
Chan claimed 4 for 21 to end with match figures of 8 for 31, skipper Shawn Pereira 3 for 27 and Sharaz Ramcharran 2 for 18 for Lower Corentyne, who reached 10 without loss, after being set a mere 8 runs to seal the victory, with David Latchaya on 8.
At the Skeldon ground, a brilliant century from Quancy McPherson led West Berbice to victory over Upper Corentyne in the third place playoff.
The visitors rattled up 227 all out in 43 overs with McPherson slamming 106 with 14 fours and he received support from Nick Ramsaroop 31 and Avisakar Sooknandan 22, with Ramsaroop and Sooknandan adding 54 for the first wicket.
Bowling for Upper Corentyne, Deon Esau claimed 4 for 65 runs and Omesh Kumar 3 for 12 and in reply, Upper Corentyne were bundled out for 76 with only E. Williams 28 and Quancy Burnett 15 reaching double figures.
Deryck Narine snared 4 for 8, pacer Greisan Grant 4 for 18 and Kevon Jawahir 2 for 9 for West Berbice who reached 39 for 3 in their second innings when the game was called off with Omesh Kumar claiming all three wickets.
At the presentation ceremony, Public Relations Officer of the BCB, Hilbert Foster, described the tournament as a great success and praised the four teams for their passion, commitment and overall discipline on and off the field.
Foster expressed the BCB’s gratitude to the Management and Staff of Diamond Fire and General Insurance for their continued investment into the development of cricketing talents in Berbice and expressed the hope that the relationship between the BCB and the company would continue in the future.
Speaking directly to the cricketers, Foster told them that they were a privileged bunch as in Berbice they are able to play cricket on a scale that is unmatched anywhere in the Caribbean with a record-breaking 25 tournaments to be played in 2012 and early 2013.
Regional Manager of Diamond Fire, Phillip Kowlessar, who spoke on behalf of the company, praised the BCB for organising a tournament of excellence and expressed pleasure at the high level of talent available in the ancient county.
The Insurance Company, Kowlessar disclosed, was pleased to be associated with such a dynamic organisation like the BCB and would continue the relationship in the future.
The winning team received $60 000 and a trophy, the runners-up $35 000, third-placers $25 000 and fourth-placers $15 000, while Chan was named Man-of-the-Final for his eight wickets. He also received $5 000 and a trophy for his efforts.