Demerara easily retain title in drawn encounter with Berbice
… President’s XI defeat Essequibo

DEFENDING champions Demerara easily retained their Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Under-15 title which is being sponsored this year by Sterling Products Limited’s Igloo Ice-cream range of products, yesterday, following their drawn match against Berbice at the Everest Cricket Club ground.

At the Demerara Cricket Club ground, the President’s XI scored a commanding 157-run victory over a hapless Essequibo lineup, to finish the tournament in third place on 25 points behind Demerara 43 and Berbice with 38, while Essequibo took the cellar position with 11 points.
At Camp Road, Demerara resumed the final day when play got under way at 10:45hrs due to some seepage on the pitch, on 102 for 6 – an overall lead of 196, with Sagar Hetheramani and Azim Ally unbeaten on 1 and 0 respectively.
Thanks to two authoritative drives from Hetheramani off Junior Williams (1 for 27), Demerara reached 137 for 7 off 49 overs at lunch, a lead of 231, losing Ally who was caught by Steven Deonarine off Kris Ramnarine (1 for 35) for 9 at 126 for 7 in the 42nd over.
Hetheramani was unbeaten on 21 and with him was Bhojnarine Singh 5, as the home team added 35 for the loss of Ally’s wicket during the morning session which saw Berbice sending down 21 overs and after the break, Berbice removed Hetheramani who was caught by Deonarine at mid-on off Williams.
He faced 106 balls and struck three fours in his 36 before he was the eighth and final batsman to be dismissed at 164, having added 38 with Singh who was unbeaten on 14 when the innings was closed with Demerara 166 for 8 off 58 overs.
Javed Karim took 2 for 9 to be Berbice’s best bowler, before his side struggled to 30 for 4 and later 79 for 4 at tea, chasing 261 to record a come-from-behind win, having lost Kevin Sinclair (10), Surendra Budhoo (22), Ramnarine (5) and Karim without scoring, with Deonarine on 31 and Kevon Anderson 4.
Budhoo had earlier retired hurt on 16 after missing a full-pitched delivery from Singh and resumed his innings when Karim was lbw to Hetheramani at 30 for 4, following which he added 18 with Deonarine before he was lbw to Hetheramani, playing back to one that kept low at 48 for 4.
Anderson joined Deonarine and together they added 31 runs until tea, increasing their partnership to 49 after the break, before Anderson was forced to retire hurt on 22 at 97 for 4, having suffered an abrasion to his left elbow, while diving to avoid being run-out.
Dutifully, Deonarine posted his half-century from 137 balls while batting for 169 minutes. He steered Anthony Antonio to third man for his third four, before Seon Glasgow was run-out for 8, at which time the game was called off with Berbice 133 for 5 off 55.2 overs.
Deonarine was unbeaten on 55 (3×4, 142 balls), as Hetheramani took 2 for 21, while there was a wicket each for Antonio and Singh as Berbice salvaged a draw in windy conditions, even as Ashmead Nedd was declared the man-of-the-match.
At DCC, President’s XI resumed the day on 71 for 1 with Mark Ramsammy and first-innings centurion Christopher Campbell unbeaten on 25 each and closed off their innings at 173 for 6 scored off 62 overs.
Ramsammy scored 26 while Campbell got 32, with the pair adding 55 for the second wicket, while Robin Williams came in and topscored with his unbeaten 41 (4×4, 141balls) which together with Brandon Corlette’s unbeaten 27 (3×4) added 75 for their unbroken seventh-wicket partnership.
Besham Moses was Essequibo’s best bowler with his 2 for 29, but his side struggled to achieve the 246 they were asked to score to record a come-from-behind win, as they were bowled out for 89 off 66 overs.
Arnold Adams topscored with 17 (2×4) while Govindra Gobin 15 along with 11 each from Moses and Romesh Ramgobin were the lone batsmen to reach double figures, even as first-innings destroyer Stephon Wilson and Khemchand Hardyal took 3 wickets each for 15 and 18 runs respectively and Corlette 2 for 16.
For their win, Demerara received a trophy and $50 000 while Berbice were the recipients of a trophy and $25 000 with Demerara’s Ashmead Nedd being named the man-of-the-match for their encounter against Berbice and Campbell the same accolades in his team’s matchup against Essequibo.

(By Calvin Roberts)