THE North Essequibo Cricket Committee-sponsored T20 competition commenced last Sunday, with Gunners, Young Achievers, Devonshire Castle and Walton Hall all in winners’ row.

At the Imam Bacchus Sports ground, Young Achievers upset hosts, Bacchus Sports Club in the first of two matches played at the ground. Winning the toss and batting, Bacchus SC amassed 135-7 in 18 overs after a late start led to the reduction of the allotted 20 overs.

Opener Navindra Persaud top-scored with 43 including 6×4 while former national Under-15 wicketkeeper/batsman Wayne Osborne supported with 34, laced with two sixes and four fours. Medium pacer Keith Blackman was accurate and claimed 3-14 from 4 overs for Young Achievers. In reply, critical innings from Tameshwar Dhanpaul 40 (3×6, 2×4) and Carlos Yhap 25 (2×6, 1×4) piloted the Youngsters to a memorable 4-wicket victory as they ended on 136-6 in the final over.

In the second match, Gunners shot their way to an exciting four-wicket win over Charity SC. Batting first after winning the toss, Charity SC struggled to 112 all out in the 18th over with Noel Evans top-scoring with 47 (5×4, 2×6) and Keysho Ruplall 21 including three fours.

Left-arm spinner Haiman Beharry claimed 4-14 from 4 overs and former Essequibo senior inter-county all-rounder Elroy Stephney 2-17 from 4 overs. In reply, Gunners held their nerves and eventually reached their target, ending on 113-6 in the final over with 6 runs needed.

Opener Juma Lall made 34 (2×4) and Alex Collins hammered 32 (3×4, 1×6) to secure the win. Fast bowler Mukesh Singh bowled superbly to claim 4-15 from 4 overs and Hassan Rahim 2-10 from 3 overs, which temporarily dampened the bullets of the Gunners.
In the other matches played at the Walton Hall ground, Devonshire Castle made light work of Sparta SC. Batting first, Devonshire Castle SC made 195-8 in the reduced 18 overs then dismissed Sparta SC for a paltry 92 in 16 overs.

In the other encounter, Walton Hall SC arrested Police who were all out for 125 in 14 overs. Walton Hall then raced to their target of 126 for the loss of 4 wickets in 12 overs to win by 6 wickets.

The competition continues this Sunday with the second round of matches in the round-robin competition. The top four teams after the preliminary round of matches will qualify for the playoffs and a chance to win monetary prizes and trophies in the final.