FOLLOWING Carlton Jacques’ incisive spell with the new ball, skipper Sherfane Rutherford and opener Tevin Imloch combined to pilot Georgetown to a comfortable nine-wicket victory over East Bank, in the first round of the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) Inter-Association Under-17 tournament yesterday.

Playing at the Everest Cricket Club ground in a rain-reduced encounter, East Bank won the toss and opted to take first strike – a decision that backfired on them as Jacques used the new ball well to end with 4-10, and East Bank were dismissed for a paltry 64.
Their final score is a far cry from their shaky position of 24 for 6, as Jacques, in partnership with Samuel McKenzie and Shamar Graham, who took two wickets each for 13 and 19 runs respectively, placed them on the ropes.
Steady batting from Dextroy Williams, who topscored with 25 that included two sweetly timed fours before he was the final batsman to be dismissed when he was bowled by Graham and Akeem Hopkinson’s 6, brought some respectability to East Bank’s total.
They added 13 for the seventh wicket, with Hopkinson hitting McKenzie through the covers for 4, before he lost his off stump to the next delivery, forcing Williams to rally around the lower order.
When the star-studded Georgetown began their reply, they lost the wicket of Joshua Ram who was bowled by Michael Sultan (1-13) for 10 at 27 for 1 in the 6th over.
However, it was the lone success for East Bank as Imloch, who top-scored with 26 and together with Rutherford, who in his own right is a former National Under-15 player, supporting with 21, saw their team to 64 for 1 off 15 overs, as they added 37 for the second wicket.
The action is set to continue with two more matches today from 09:00hrs, with Georgetown facing West Demerara at Everest, while at the Police Sports Club ground, East Bank will be looking to redeem themselves, when they face East Coast.
One match will be played tomorrow and that will feature East Coast against West Demerara, while on Monday, Georgetown and East Coast will meet at Police and East Bank and West Demerara will clash at Everest.
At the end of this tournament, the Demerara Under-17 team will be selected to compete in the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Inter-County Under-17 tournament, from which the national team will be selected to play in the West Indies Cricket Board’s Regional Under-17 tournament.