IN PERFECT conditions for cricket, Rose Hall Town (RHT) Gizmos and Gadgets defeated neighbours and arch rivals Albion Cricket Club in the final of the 2015 Tenelec Inc. First Division, 50-over cricket competition last Sunday at the Albion Sports Complex.

The competition was sponsored by Bobby Deonarine and Tom Gruntzel of Tenelec Inc. of Washington, U.S.A.
Taking first strike after winning the toss, Rose Hall Town’s opening pair of former national youth player Khemraj Mahadeo and former Berbice youth player Michael Hicks failed to roll back the years with both going early to Josiah Dhanai for five and four runs respectively.
Berbice senior wicketkeeper/batsman Jason Sinclair also went cheaply for eight, bowled by national youth all-rounder Balchand Baldeo.
Former senior national wicketkeeper-batsman Delbert Hicks started to look good, but fell to national T20 star Jonathan Foo for 18 with his team reeling at 39-4.
West Indies middle-order batsman Assad Fudadin and former West Indies senior one-day player Royston Crandon attempted operation recovery. However, Albion had other ideas with Baldeo accounting for Fudadin caught at slips for 24.
National all-rounder Rajiv Ivan joined Crandon and together they steadied the ship for Rose Hall Town, putting on 48 for the sixth wicket before Crandon was caught behind off West Indies left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul for 24.
Ivan rallied with the tail but was eventually run-out on the last ball of the innings for a magnificent 71. Senior Inter-county player Collis Butts chipped in with 18 as Rose Hall Town finished on 180-9 off their allotted 50 overs. Dhanai, Baldeo and Foo took two wickets each.
Albion started well with former Guyana youth players, Kandasammy Surujnarine and Baldeo, batting superbly to put on 53 for the first wicket. Baldeo was then caught and bowled by Ivan for an ominous-looking 33.
Surujnarine followed, caught behind off former national youth all-rounder Shawn Perreira for 15. Albion then lost quick wickets, reaching 95-6 in the 31st over when the prolific Foo went caught on the long-on boundary off Butts for 11.
However, the Albion lads were determined. National senior player Gudakesh Motie and Permaul joined forces and put pressure on the opposition, until Motie was needlessly run-out for 22 at 136-7.
With Motie gone, so did the hopes of his team, as they lost their last three wickets for six runs to finish 39 runs short of their target.
Butts, the son of former West Indies off-spinner Clyde Butts, spun webs around the Albion batsmen, finishing with 5-35, to share the Man-of-the-Match incentive with Ivan.
At the presentation which followed, Angela Haniff spoke on behalf of the sponsor as well as the Berbice Cricket Board. She said that Tenelec Inc. was pleased to be associated with the Berbice Cricket Board and was impressed with the media coverage the competition got.
When speaking on behalf of the board, she said that the board is always grateful to Bobby Deonarine and Tom Gruntzel of Tenelec Inc., USA.
She added that Tenelec Inc. is the board’s biggest sponsor and, coupled with sponsorship of the Under-15 tournament, the company has contributed significantly to the overall success of Berbice cricket.
She also thanked Albion Estate for hosting the game and the print and electronic media for excellent coverage off all BCB cricket.
Rose Hall Town skipper Shawn Perreira collected a beautiful trophy and $100 000 for their efforts, while runners-up Albion also received a trophy and cash incentives