THE Diplomats Sports Club fielders were busy outside of the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) yesterday as they searched for balls by the road corner and in nearby yards —so powerful was the hitting ability of teenager Sachin Singh.

The left-hander smashed 15 sixes, most of which sailed over the Queenstown ground, en route to 171—his highest score in cricket.  His sensational strokeplay spurred the defending champions to a massive 196-run win over the DSC in the first NBS Second-Division 40-Over cricket game of the 2018/2019 competition.

HITTING CLINIC
The former West Indies U-16 skipper, who opened the batting, paced his innings well. He played most of his shots with a straight bat and favoured the straight drive when he did not go over the top. Along with his 15 maximums, he clobbered 13 fours off just 82 balls. 

For the first wicket, the 17-year-old and Garrick Persaud pushed the home team to 61 runs, with the latter hitting 44 runs (5x4s and 2x6s) from 30 balls.  It was, however, a fourth-wicket stand of 122 that illustrated the power of Singh.  Joshua Persaud (24 runs, 3x4s) scored at almost a run-a-ball at the crease, but he was a bystander as his partner batted the game out of the reach of the Diplomats with a barrage of shots.

It took a miss-hit off the bowling of Dwayne Fraser and a good diving catch from Adrian Foster, running in from deep midwicket, to end Singh’s spectacular innings.

Keanu Harry with 33 runs (2x4s, 3x6s) and Ashmead Nedd with 31 (3x4s, 1×6) also played a few shots as DCC raced to 378-9 from their allotted overs.

Off-spinner Claudius Fraser led the Diplomats’ bowling attack with 3-77, while Andre Foster and Richard Woolford picked up two wickets each.

Needing almost 9 ½ runs per over, Diplomats had a spirited start. Their openers, Claudius Fraser 46 (4x4s, 2x6s) and Sean Hughes, 28 (5x4s), pushed them to 71, before right arm leg-spinner Steven Sankar cleaned up the top.

35. King with 30 (2x4s, 2x6s) and R. Gill with 21 (3x6s) were entertaining in the latter stages, but the game was already decided. In the end, Diplomats folded for 182 in 35.4 overs.

Sankar finished with 3-35, while Qumar Torrington and Carlton Jacks took two wickets each from their second spells.