Khan’s ton places Demerara in sight of victory
… Berbice defeat Essequibo

INDEBTED to Amir Khan’s maiden and resilient century along with a five-wicket haul from Steven Jacobs, Demerara ended the second day of their second round four-day fixture against the Guyana Cricket Board Developmental XI at the Everest Cricket Club ground, with victory in their sights.Resuming on 134 for 3 in search of 155 for first innings honours, Demerara were bowled out for 338 with Khan contributing 116 and skipper Vishaul Singh 56, while opener Trevon Griffith had earlier scored 53 late on the opening day.
Jacobs took 5 for 91 in a marathon spell of 43.1 overs and got support from Steven Sankar who took 3 for 48, before their side slipped to 7 for 3 in their second innings, when faced with a deficit of 184 runs, thanks to the bowling of Paul Wintz and Gavin Moriah.
Moriah trapped Shimron Hetmyer lbw for 3, while a double strike from Wintz accounted for both Tagenarine Chanderpaul and David Latchaya without scoring and Christopher Barnwell removed Chanderpaul Hemraj 12 (3×4) at 19 for 4, followed by Wintz’s dismissal of Jacobs who was bowled looking for an expansive drive for 8 (2×4) at 23 for 5 as doomsday faced the Developmental XI.
Kemo Paul 6 and Kemol Savory 9 rallied to push them to 38 for 5 at the close of play, with their side needing 146 more runs to avoid an innings defeat, with Wintz taking 3 for 14 and a wicket each for Barnwell and Moriah at the close.
Earlier, Demerara resumed the day on 134 for 3, in search of 20 more to surpass their opponent’s first innings total of 154 and did so in the 10th over of the day’s play, following which Khan hit Steven Sankar for six over midwicket to further strengthen his team’s stranglehold on the match.
Khan got to his half-century shortly after, batting for 110 minutes and facing 108 balls with six fours and one six and at lunch, Demerara were 233 for 3 with Khan on 63 and Singh 48, as they frustrated the Developmental XI bowlers throughout the session, in which they added 99 runs from the 39 overs bowled, while their fourth-wicket partnership stretched to 119.
During the session, Khan struck four more fours to go along with his six, while Singh also got four fours, including a deft dab to third man off his opposite number Steven Jacobs, who used six bowlers in his attempt to dislodge the pair before lunch, but to no avail.
After the break, Singh got his half-century from 152 balls after 165 minutes, with four fours, before Shimron Hetmyer held a sharp reflex catch under the bat at forward short leg, to remove Singh off the bowling of Jacobs for 56.
He added 131 for the fourth wicket with Khan, who saw the quick demise of Barnwell (4) and Zaheer Mohammed (0) at the other end, leaving his side on 256 for 6, with his contribution being 71.
As the wickets fell around him, Khan grew in confidence to move into the 90s where he stayed for close to 35 minutes before unleashing an authoritative extra cover drive off Hemraj to move to 98, pushing his team to 311 for 7 at tea, with Wintz on 9.
Khan got his century with a four past extra cover off Hemraj, his ninth from the 239th delivery he faced while batting for 286 minutes to go along with his solitary six and even though he lost Wintz (10), he was not flustered as he punched Jacobs with authority for his 10th four in the next over.
A thin edge through to wicketkeeper Kemol Savory off Sankar was the downfall of Khan at 337 for 9, with his contribution being 116 scored off 257 balls during his 306-minute sojourn at the wicket, during which time he struck 10 fours and one six, before the innings folded with Jacobs removing Moriah (1), leaving Raj Nannan unbeaten on 7.
At the Demerara Cricket Club ground, Berbice placed themselves in a strong position to claim the title, when they defeated perennial whipping boys Essequibo by nine wickets inside two days, earning for themselves an extra two days off.
Resuming at 130-3 in reply to Essequibo’s first-innings total of 173, Berbice were eventually bowled out for 273, a lead of 100 runs, with their skipper and overnight batsman Narsingh Deonarine falling for 93 (11×4, 3×6) while Jonathan Foo took his overnight 14 to 33 and Romario Shepherd- DeJonge supported with 25.
Hemchand Persaud (3-25), Anthony Adams (2-46), Royan Fredericks (2-67) and Ricardo Adams (2-46) were the successful bowlers for Essequibo, who in their second innings had no answer to the guile and deception of the Ancient County spinners and were routed for a meagre 166.
Losing wickets frequently, Essequibo innings never really looked set to take off and stuttered and stumbled all the way through, as Gudakesh Motie-Kanhai, 6 for 34, and Deonarine 3 for 39 destroyed their batting lineup which saw Peters 77 (9×4, 3×6) and Anthony Adams 40 (2×4, 2×6) offer resistance.
Set 67 for victory, Berbice reached 70-1 off 10.3 overs with Kandasammy Surujnarine hitting an unbeaten 45 (6×4, 1×6) and Devon Clements 3. Seon Hetmyer 17 (2×4, 1×6) was the lone wicket to fall for Berbice, bowled by Persaud (1 for 7).

(By Calvin Roberts)