AN impressive half-century by national Under- 15 batsman Sheldon Charles and a destructive spell of off-spin bowling from Azizi Christiani highlighted the latest round of the Ramballi and Mahadeo inter-secondary school Under-17 cricket competition played on the Essequibo Coast last Saturday.

At the Imam Bacchus ground in Affiance, Anna Regina Secondary ‘A’ remained unbeaten in the competition with a comfortable 48-run victory against Charity Secondary who suffered their second straight loss. After being inserted to bat on a pitch that had some amount of moisture, Anna Regina Secondary started off slowly with the batsmen trying copiously to negotiate the uneven bounce of the pitch.

However, the run-rate gradually accelerated as Charles, who opened the batting, began to get into his strides. A sixty-five run partnership between him and Eshwar Nauth propelled the score to 122-3 from 20 overs, after a late start. Charles eventually top-scored with 59 (7x4s) while Nauth supported with 29 (2x4s). Shivanand Kissoon with 1-18 from 4 overs and Terrence Lall with1-24 from his 4 overs were the wicket-takers. In reply, Charity Secondary also found runs difficult to come by as the spin of Azizi Christiani stifled their chances.

 Christiani grabbed 4-4 from 2 overs to spin Charity Secondary out for 74 in 14 overs with Gomesh Paul taking 2-12 from 3 overs. In the second game at the same venue, Johanna Cecilia scored an upset win against Abram Zuil Secondary, winning by 6 wickets. After being asked to bat first, Abram Zuil could only muster 99-6 from their allotted 20 overs.

Opener Jared Allicock with39 (2x4s) batted convincingly, but only Saeed Hack (12) and Davendra Narine (10) supported his effort. Accurate seam bowling by Ryan Singh accounted for 3-16 from his 4 overs. In reply, an aggressive 28 (3x4s and 1×6) from Hemraj Dindyall and a composed 22 (2x4s) from Captain Chetram Suerattan ensured that they reached the target, ending on 101-4 from 16 overs.

 Off-spinner Saeed Hack claimed 3-17 from 4 overs, but it was in vain. The next round of matches will be played on Saturday, December 8^th at the Number 1 and Imam Bacchus grounds. (Elroy Stephney).