By Elroy Stephney

AN absorbing day of exciting T20 cricket was witnessed by a large gathering at the Reliance Sports Club ground in Essequibo on Sunday.

The four-team competition commenced in January and culminated with the final between Bush Lot Trend Setters and Cotton Field Sports Club, along with the third place play-off.
Early morning showers delayed the start of play, but when it did get going, the crowd was treated to an exciting display generally.

In the final, Bush Lot Trend Setters won the toss and batted, after the match was reduced to a 17-over affair. A decent opening stand of 28 in 3 overs between Ricardo Persaud and Tameshwar Dhanpaul set the tone for the visitors.
When they were removed, however, with Persaud falling for 15 and Dhanpaul for 12, scoring became difficult as two further wickets fell in quick succession to leave the score on 42-4 in the 6th over.

However, it was captain Keith Joseph’s day as he strode to the wicket with confidence. Immediately he stamped his authority with a rasping cover-drive that sped to the boundary to open his account.

Wickets continued to tumble though, but Joseph kept the scoreboard ticking with regular boundaries including a massive six that sailed out of the ground. He single-handedly thereafter tore the bowling apart as he reached a well- deserved half-century and piloted his side to a respectable 136-9 in 17 overs. He ended unbeaten on 57 including 6×6 and 3×4.

Fast medium bowler Anthonio Bholo had impressive figures of 3-23 from 3 overs while Gansham Jainarine and Rajesh Ramdahin also took 2 wickets each with their off-spin. In response, Cotton Field also got off to a rapid start smashing 32 in 3 overs despite losing an early wicket.

They couldn’t sustain the momentum however, as wickets fell at regular intervals. Opener Kevin Persaud threatened at the top with a cameo of 22, laced with 2×6 and 1×4 but he failed to extend his time at the crease when it mattered.
The lower order then fought gallantly to maintain the run rate as Anthony Bholo 18 (2×4) and Yashpaul Singh 20 (2×4, 1×6) gave their team renewed hope.

But in the end though, Bush Lot kept their nerve to restrict Cotton Field to 124-8 from the 17 overs, to win the match by 12 runs and the coveted title. There were 2 wickets each for Gregory Braithwaite, Tameshwar Dhanpaul and Keith Blackman who capped off outstanding all-round performances.

Earlier, Reliance Masters taught their junior counterparts Reliance Hustlers a lesson by winning the third-place play-off. The match was reduced to 15 overs with Reliance Masters winning the toss and batting. They amassed 130-9 from the allotted 15 overs with former Essequibo inter-county batsman Elroy Stephney stroking 30 (5×4) Premnauth Persaud contributing 25 (4×4) and captain Sunil Lall scoring 20 (2×4). Suruj Rajah and Shawn Narine had figures of 2-29 and 2-18 respectively.

In reply, the juniors, despite explosive knocks of 32 from Shawn Narine, Satish Persaud’s 20 and Narendra Mandolall’s 18 they agonisingly reached 128-7 when their overs expired to lose by three runs.

Teddy Manchal and Cecil Shivambar had 2 wickets each to bowl their side to victory. During the presentation, chairman of the Reliance Sports Ground Development Committee, Trevis Simon, thanked the teams for their participation as well as the sponsors who donated trophies.

Among the recipients were Best Batsman of the tournament – Satish Persaud, Best Bowler – Keith Blackman, Most Valuable Player – Kevin Persaud while in the Final, Keith Blackman received the Best Batsman and Man-of-the-Match prizes. Antonio Bholo received the trophy for being the Best Bowler.

Bush Lot Trend Setters received the winners’ trophy while Reliance Masters received a trophy for achieving third place.