By Frederick Halley
TORONTO, Canada – A brilliant all-round performance from former Guyana and West Indies One-day player Royston Crandon piloted All Stars to a crushing seven-wicket victory over the much-vaunted Berbice line-up in last Saturday’s inaugural white ball Inter-county tournament, played at Keele Top, North York here.
A Berbician by birth, but representing All Stars, Crandon transformed his hard ball skills to the softball arena with a vintage all-round effort which somehow failed to win him the man-of-the-match award.
Set a challenging 128 for victory in the 20-over affair, Crandon, who had earlier claimed two for 16 from 2.3 overs and taken two fine catches, ended on an attacking 33 not out as victory was achieved with 7.3 overs to spare.
The platform for the run chase was set by the burly Farouk Hussein (29) who dominated a 49-run opening stand with former Guyana Under-19 player Harrinarine Chattergoon whose contribution was a mere three. Hussein’s knock contained four towering sixes.
Skipper Anil Ramotar kept up the tempo by contributing 18 and by the time he was dismissed at 71 for three in the seventh over, his team was already in a commanding position to cart off victory.
Crandon, in tandem with the no-nonsense Zaheer Allard ensured Berbice didn’t get back into the game as they carried their side to victory with an unbeaten fourth-wicket partnership of 57 with the latter finishing on 28 not out.
Earlier, Berbice, who opted to take first strike, suffered an immediate setback and were in dire straits at 45 for six with the likes of Hemnarine Chattergoon, Riaz Kadir, Yadram Bogh and Damodar Daesrath all falling cheaply.
Skipper Loaknauth Ramsuchit (33) and Linden Persaud (23) stemmed the tide somewhat as Berbice reached what proved to be an inadequate 127 all out in 19.3 overs.
Bholanauth Sukhu was the main destroyer with three for 16 in his four overs while Rabindra Diaram supported admirably with two for 19, also from four. Crandon, who was responsible for breaking the 51-run stand between Ramsuchit and Persaud, chipped in with two for 16 from 2.3 overs.
The semi-final encounters saw All Stars get the better of Demerara in a closely-fought encounter while Berbice also stopped Essequibo in a fierce battle.
At the presentation ceremony which followed, All Stars copped the winning trophy and Cdn$2000 while the runners-up took home a trophy and Cdn$1000.
All Stars skipper Ramotar was the recipient of the best batsman award, having totalled 84 runs in his two innings while Riaz Kadir claimed the best bowler prize for his five wickets.
Sukhu was named the best bowler and Crandon the best batsman in the final, each earning a trophy for his fine efforts. Sukhu was also named the most valuable player (MVP) in the final.
Organiser Daesrath, who pledged that the event will be an annual affair, disclosed that he was pleased with the day’s activities and expressed sincere thanks to the participating teams. He also showered praise on the several sponsors who were responsible for making the day’s activities a tremendous success.
One of the main sponsors, Dhanny Sukhu of Dent Wizard and PGI Ltd, also stated that he was pleased to be part of the inaugural tournament and was excited to see the interest displayed by the players.
Apart from Dent Wizard and PGI Limited, other sponsors were Trophy Stall, Caribbean Heat Restaurant, T&S Enterprise, Caribbean Lyme Restaurant, 24 Hrs Glass System, JDG Tooling, Canadian Surplus Guyana and Hawaiian Arctic.
