A BRUTAL ton from Guyana and West Indies T20 all rounder and Demerara skipper Christopher Barnwell, coupled with discipline bowling from the pace/spin combination he used, guided defending champions Demerara to a commanding 122 runs victory over Essequibo in the first round of their Guyana Cricket Board organised Pepsi sponsored senior Inter-county 50 overs tournament yesterday.Asked to bat first in hazy conditions and on a sluggish track,

but fast Georgetown Cricket Club outfield by their opponents, Demerara said thanks by posting 322 for 8 from their 50 overs, with Barnwell hitting an 85 ball 101 that was decorated with 10 fours and five sixes.

He got support from Zaheer Mohammed-Shadir 49 (40 balls, 3×4, 3×6), Trevon Griffith 48 (51balls, 7×4), Derwin Christian 26 and Paul Wintz’s breezy and unbeaten 23 (17balls, 4×4), as Herry Greene and Jason Heyliger took 2 wickets each for 38 and 66 runs respectively.
Essequibo in reply were bowled out for 198 inside 43.3 overs, despite Vishwanauth Lall 59 (63balls, 4×4, 3×6), Kemo Paul 51 (88balls, 5×4, 1×6) and Kevon Boodie 29 (40balls, 5×4) doing their best to thwart the home team bowlers, as Barnwell, Amir Khan, Steven Jacobs and Mohammed-Shadir took 2 wickets each, for 16, 27, 35 and 44 runs respectively.
Demerara got a rampant start from Griffith and Robin Bacchus who posted 30 for the first wicket, with Griffith taking 18 off the first over from Dillon Heyliger which included four fours that were struck with authority, while he scored two more fours off the said bowler’s second over.
Bacchus (03) was rather unfortunate to be given out lbw to Gilford Moore, who was playing is first match in Guyana since 2011, when he played for Guyana against the Leeward Islands, but Griffith continued with a well timed four off Heyliger’s older brother Jason, after being joined by Rajendra Chandrika.
Demerara posted their 50 from 6.5 overs, but lost Griffith shortly after, when he was given out handled ball, after falling over in his attempt to sweep at a delivery from Greene and used his hand to prevent the ball from hitting his wicket, with the umpire upholding Essequibo’s appeal, after adding 62 with Chandrika.
He was quickly followed by Shemroy Barrington, who cut the next delivery and his first from Greene, straight into the waiting hands of Moore at point with the score reading 92 for 3, as Barnwell strode to the wicket.
He survived two faster deliveries from Greene, before muscling the final delivery to the long off boundary to open his account, before witnessing the demise of Chandrika, who picked out Dillon Heyliger at mid off, in his bid to hit Anthony Adams over that area.
Jacobs entered the scene but not for long, offering Anthony Adams catching practice off the part time spin of Royan Fredericks (1for 35), enabling Christian to join his Demerara Cricket Club teammate Barnwell, following which they added 87 for sixth wicket.
Barnwell struck the elder Heyliger over long off for six, followed by a four through point, while Christian got two fours off Fredericks, who was later hit back over his head with disdain by Barnwell, followed by another six, which brought up the right hander’s 50 from 52 deliveries, decorated with five fours and three sixes.
As if to say that was too much balls to get to his first 50, he showed why when he used 31 more to post his ton, the first of this year’s tournament, with five more fours and two sixes, one of which landed in the Ministry of Agriculture yard, off Greene.
Christian was given a life by Boodie, who grassed a straight forward chance that was offered off the bowling of Sheldon Alexander, who at the last moment was placed in the final 11, following the suspension of Ricardo Adams, a move that delayed the start of play earlier in the day.
But it was Barnwell who took the attack to the Essequibians, hitting Alexander for 4, 6, 4, and 4 in the 36th over, raising Demerara’s 200 in the process, before he lost Christian, who was caught by Alexander at long off, as he looked to hit Greene over that area at 226 for 6.
However, Demerara lost Barnwell two balls after he posted his ton, bowled by Jason Heyliger, a wicket that allowed Wintz and Mohammed-Shadir to showcase their lower order hitting ability, an act they did to perfection.
Dillon Heyliger was pulled for six by Mohammed, who also got his other two maximums off Jason Heyliger, even as Wintz cut and drove with authority at the other end, with one of his four fours being an audacious cut through point off Anthony Adams.
Mohammed-Shadir fell in the final over, when he picked out Vijay Surujpaul at deep midwicket off Jason Heyliger, one short of a well deserved half century, but Wintz finished the over and his team’s innings in style, hitting the final delivery for his fourth four.
Like Demerara, Essequibo got off to a flyer, as Fredericks got three fours off Wintz, followed by a sweetly timed straight drive off Stoll in the 8th over, before he was caught at point by Barrington, off the final delivery of the said over at 40 for 1.
It became 73 for 5, as the wickets of Boodie, brothers Jason and Dillon Heyliger for 1 and 5 and Surujpaul who failed to trouble the scorers, were taken by Demerara, before Lall and Paul, who was surprisingly not given the ball when Demerara batted, joined forces.
Lall took a liking to Mohammed-Shadir after Essequibo posted their 100 in the 21st over, with a Lall four to third-man off Khan, by hitting the right handed off spinner for two sixes back over his head, raising his half century off the second six, taking 49 balls and hitting four fours and two sixes in the process.
He picked out Bacchus at long off, when he looked to hit Mohammed-Shadir over that area, but Paul refused to give up the fight, hitting Mohammed-Shadir for two fours, while Alexander also hit the said bowler for a six over wide long on.
But the task of scoring at a run rate of 10.77 runs per over on a sluggish track proved to be too much for the visitors, who quickly lost Alexander (07), Greene (05) and Paul in that order, but not before Paul posted his maiden half century at this level from 84 deliveries, with five fours and a six, leaving Moore undefeated on 2.
Barnwell was named Man of the Match and received a trophy to that respect from DDL/Pepsi brand manager Larry Wills, while Essequibo were sent back to the drawing board, to prepare for their second round clash against Berbice on Tuesday at the same venue.
Scorecard
Demerara Innings
T. Griffith handled ball 48
R. Bacchus lbw Moore 03
R. Chandrika c D. Heyliger b A. Adams 39
S. Barrington c Moore b Greene 00
+C. Barnwell b J. Heyliger 101
S. Jacobs c A. Adams b Fredericks 14
D. Christian c Alexander b Greene 26
Z. Mohammed-Shadir c Surujpaul b J. Heyliger 49
P. Wintz not out 23
A. Khan not out 00
Extras (w15, lb2, nb2) 19
Total (for 8 wickets off 50 overs) 322
Fall of wickets: 1-30, 2-92, 3-92, 4-107, 5-139, 6-226, 7-261, 8-318
Did not bat: A. Stoll
Bowling: D. Heyliger 4-0-49-0 (w1), Moore 7-0-46-1 (w2), J. Heyliger 8-0-66-2 (w2), A. Adams 10-0-47-1 (w1, nb2), Fredericks 6-1-35-1, Lall 3-0-14-0 (w1), Greene 10-1-38-2(w1), Alexander 2-0-25-0 (w1)

Essequibo Innings

R. Fredericks c Barrington b Stoll 24
K. Boodie b Jacobs 29
J. Heyliger b Barnwell 01
D. Heyliger lbw b Barnwell 05
V. Lall c Bacchus b Mohammed-Shadir 59
V. Surujpaul lbw b Khan 00
K. Paul c Chandrika b Khan 51
A. Adams c wkpr Christian b Griffith 00
S. Alexander c Barnwell b Mohammed-Shadir 07
H. Greene c Barnwell b Jacobs 05
G. Moore not out 02
Extras (b1, w9, nb1, lb4) 15
Total (all out off 43.3 overs) 198
Fall of wickets: 1-40, 2-58, 3-64, 4-69, 5-73, 6-163, 7-163, 8-177, 9-188, 10-198
Bowling: Wintz 6-0-36-0 (w2, nb1), Stoll 7-1-31-1, Barnwell 5-0-16-2 (w1), Jacobs 8-1-35-2 (w2), Khan 8.3-2-27-2, Mohammed-Shadir 7-0-44-2 (w1), Griffith 2-0-4-1 (w1)