– after Rafael Singh 6-29

GNIC claimed six wickets in the closing stages to fight their way back against Transport Sports Club (TSC) at the end of the opening day of the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) sponsored Noble House Seafoods second division two-day cricket final yesterday at the Georgetown Cricket Club ground, Bourda.

Replying to GNIC’s first innings total of 167, TSC reached 68-6 in 23 overs.
Shaun Massiah and Azeem Azeez will resume today on four runs each, with TSC still trailing in their first innings by 99 runs.
TSC looked set to take complete control of the game, after off-spinner Rafael Singh first grabbed 6-29 in 12 overs. Singh capitalised on the overcautious approach of the GNIC batsmen, and used the bounce on offer to good effect, as GNIC catapulted in 66.5 overs.
From a relatively decent position of 134-4 at lunch, GNIC lost the plot in a disastrous 55-minute period after the interval, with Singh, who was almost unplayable at times on account of his accuracy,being the main destroyer during that period.

Earlier, Stephen Campbell top scored with 62,while several other batsmen got starts without carrying on,with Marc Nicholson making 33, Premchan Sookdeo 28, and Ryan Shun 18.
Asked to bat first, GNIC made a confident start with openers Nicholson and Campbell making the most of a perfect opportunity to bat.
The pair added 52 for the first wicket, with Nicholson being the more aggressive of the two batsmen, unleashing several stylish shots, including a four and three sixes.
However, GNIC were setback when Nicholson fell victim to his own brazen ways, flicking a short ball from off-spinner Kevin Ross straight to square-leg,immediately after the first drink break.

Kurt Lovell followed, run out in farcical fashion for two before Campbell and Shun put together a 33-run stand for the third-wicket.However, the batting side was further jolted when Shun offered a simple return catch to off-spinner Joshua Wilson.
Campbell, who looked at ease right from the outset continued to progress smoothly in company with Sookdeo, and together the duo took the total to 134 before Singh struck just on the stroke of lunch when he trapped Sookdeo leg before wicket.

Resuming the post lunch session on 48, Campbell brought up his half century off 173 balls but Singh kept a stranglehold on the proceeding, claiming five of the remaining batsmen.
Medium pacer Akeem Redman complemented Singh during that period by picking up the crucial wicket of Campbell, whose innings lasted 202 balls, with five hits to the fence.
Ryan Hemraj and Charwayne McPherson then started the run chase in solid fashion, adding 26 runs before there were a few hiccups.

Royston Simon claimed the wicket of Hemraj (11), while Deswin Butts removed McPherson (16) and Devaughn Nandan (2), at 33-3.
Things went further downhill for TSC when off-spinner Gajanan Suknanan had the wickets of Sunil Singh (11) and Singh (8), while fellow off-spinner Clyde Butts removed Mark Ramsammy without scoring, at 59-6.
However, Massiah and Azeez then survived to the end. Play will resume at 11:00hrs today.