THANKS to an authoritative and pugnacious unbeaten half-century from their skipper Leon Johnson, a Georgetown Select XI defeated their hosts Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) by 15 runs, albeit via a Super Over in a festivee match at the DCC ground on Tuesday night.

Asked to bat first on a straw-coloured track that still had some preparation moisture in it, DCC reached 126 for 9 from their 18 overs, thanks to Andre Stoll’s 16-ball 24, that included two sixes and one four, while Andrew Lyght Jr chipped in with 21 (3×4, 1×6) and Travis Dowlin 17 (2×4, 1×6).
Dowlin and Lyght Jr added 37 for the first wicket in 3.5 overs, with Dowlin hitting Joshua Wade for 4 and 6 in the second over of his team’s innings, while Lyght also struck the final delivery of the said over for his first four.
Seon Daniels was cut over point for four by Lyght Jr, who also struck a well pitched-up delivery from Kellon Carmichael back over the bowler’s head for six, before Dowlin chipped a slower delivery from Wade to Robin Bacchus at mid on.
Gajanand Singh struck two fours in his 10 before he pushed Wade to Bacchus at long off and when Christopher Barnwell and Shawn De Souza were sent back to the pavilion by Carmichael without scoring, followed by Lyght Jr. and Omesh Dhanram, who failed to trouble the scorers, DCC slipped from 65 for 1 to 66 for 6.
Antonell Atwell (8) and Denver Greaves (9) added 19 for the seventh wicket before Greaves was caught by Ellon Fernandes at third man off Bacchus, while Atwell picked out Shemroy Barrington at deep midwicket off Johnson.
Stoll and Dexter George revived DCC’s innings with their 20-run ninth-wicket partnership, with the left-handed Stoll hitting Bacchus for two sixes in the 15th over, realising his team’s 100 with the first one, while George got a cheeky boundary off Johnson on his way to making 10.
Wade and Carmichael took 3 wickets each for 26 and 30 runs respectively, while Johnson took 2 for 19 in support, before his team lost the wicket of Barrington who was caught by De Souza at deep midwicket off Stoll without scoring in the second over, after Gavin Nedd bowled a maiden first over.
Bacchus (8) and Orin Forde (16, 2×4; 1×6) added 22 for the second wicket, with Forde hitting Stoll for a six and Bacchus driving Barnwell for four, before Barnwell  saw Dhanram take a well-judged catch on the midwicket boundary to account for Bacchus.
Johnson strode to the wicket with his team on 22 for 2 and lost Forde, Fernandes (6) and Akeem Dodson (0) to Barnwell and when Carlos La Rose (5) and Tyrell Tull (0) were dismissed, the Georgetown Select XI were 77 for 7 at the end of 13 overs, with Johnson who was joined by Wade (5), on 23.
They added 36 for the eighth wicket, with Johnson bringing his team back into contention, when he struck Atwell for 6, 6, 6 and 4 off successive deliveries, after his team needed to score 40 runs from three overs to pick up the win, before Wade picked out De Souza at deep midwicket off Stoll.
They needed 10 off the final over that was bowled by Barnwell and only got nine of those, as Johnson finished unbeaten on 57, reaching his 50 from 32 deliveries with four sixes and two fours, while in total he faced 38 deliveries and struck an equal number of boundaries, as he forced the game into a Super Over.
The Georgetown Select XI scored 25, with Bacchus hitting Stoll’s first delivery for six, before Johnson cashed in with a 6, 4, 6 of his own, while DCC replied with a meagre 10 from their six deliveries, handing their guests victory by 15 runs and the $50 000 prize. Johnson received $10 000 for his Man-of-the-Match efforts.