A COLOURFUL and exciting day of T20 cricket was held on Sunday at the recently renovated Reliance cricket ground in Essequibo.
In a competition to organise and resuscitate cricket in the village, two matches were played and saw a fair-sized crowd cheer as the games progressed.

In the first game, Reliance Masters fought off the agility and stamina of their juniors to win by 3 wickets.
In a match reduced to 17 overs due to a late start, Reliance Juniors won the toss and batted. They were led by an impressive half- century from Tony Persaud whose delightful 55 included 6 fours and 2 sixes..

He was also supported by Shawn Singh’s 28 containing 4 fours. Essequibo’s former all-rounder Elroy Stephney had figures of 3-18 from four overs of off-spin to strangle the inexperienced batting line-up as Reliance Juniors despite a rapid start ended on 117 all-out in the penultimate over.
In reply, wickets fell for the Masters who also had a pedestrian start. However, key innings from Dhaniram 25 (3×4) and Elroy Stephney 20 (3×4) steadied and later consolidated the innings.

It later took a cameo from Aaron Fraser whose 18 with 2×4 and 1×6 ensured that the Masters crossed the line on their way to an exciting win as they reached 118-7 in the final over.
Medium pacer and former Essequibo Under-19 player Avinash Parsram generated pace to take 3-24 in 4 overs.

In the other match; also reduced to 17 overs, Cotton Field SC, winning the toss and batting against Bush Lot Trend Setters, posted a formidable 170-8 in their allotted overs.
In reply, Bush Lot Trend Setters folded for 105 in 16 overs to lose by 65 runs. Meanwhile, the competition will continue this weekend with the two winners clashing to determine the champions and gain bragging rights in Reliance.

The competition is being organised by the Interim Management Committee of the recently resuscitated Reliance Sports Club, which has produced outstanding cricketers in the past including the Mandolall brothers, Rovendra and Avinash Parsram as well as former Essequibo captain Alfred Maycock.

A competition is also scheduled to be held in memory of the late former National Youth Player Shivnandan Mandolall who died in 2013 at the age of 31.
This is being organised by his brother, overseas-based sports journalist Ravendra Mahdolall and will be held in December involving teams from Reliance, Bush-Lot and Cotton Field. Trophies and medals will be at stake.