LAST season’s finalists, Everest Cricket Club (ECC) and dominant side Police Sports Club (PSC) stamped their authority on the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) NBS 40-over opening round, with emphatic wins over Ace Warriors and Sophia respectively, yesterday at their home grounds. 

Four centuries were scored, two each by batsmen representing the respective winners in the one-sided games. 

Everest, who batted poorly against GCC in the final of the previous competition in April, showed that they had done their homework as they raced to a whopping 434 before they were bowled out in the 40th over.

The home side then slaughtered Ace Warriors batsmen (only 10 played), leaving them all out for 42 in 14.4 overs. Victory achieved by a whopping 392 runs. 

Everest skipper Dwayne Adams and Amir Khan both blasted centuries, while Richie Looknauth added 88 runs. 

Opener Adams finished on a match-high 125 runs after he struck 15 fours and three sixes.  He and Khan destroyed the bowling early. Khan, who favoured the aerial route, struck ten fours and eight sixes in his score of 116. 

After both batsmen fell to off-spinner Rawl Enmore, former national U-19 cricketer Looknauth took on the bowling. He struck eight fours and four sixes in a score of 88.  Looknauth looked solid at the crease, but he charged down late in the innings to hit Enmore over the top and was stumped. 

Enmore finished with 5-72 from seven overs. 

Ace Warriors had no answers in the middle. Only Nkosi Whyte (10) reached double figures, as Shaheed Mohamed dismantled the top order.  Mohamed got wickets in each of his first three overs, then again in the fifth and seventh overs to end with 5-10 from seven overs. 

Raylex Payne finished with 2-25 from six overs. 

SAVORY AND LYGHT DOMINATE

At the Eve Leary ground the home team raced to 359-4 off their 40 overs. 

Kemol Savory and Andrew Lyght Jr added 224 for the second wicket, with the former hitting a well-calculated 138, while Lyght, who started with a six, finished with an aggressive 130 runs. 

Lyght slammed 10 sixes and six fours during his innings, while Savory hit 10 fours and seven sixes.

The latter was forced to retire hurt after suffering from a niggling left thigh injury. 

Along with the two century-makers, Pernell London added 37 (3×4, 1×6) towards the end. 

In reply, Sophia were bundled out for 119 in 23.2 overs. London spun his way to 4-53 from eight overs.  His economy rate would have been better if teenager Alex Sital had not taken on his bowling. 

Sital, playing in his first game for Sophia, finished with 56 runs after he struck seven massive sixes and a four – three of his maximums were off consecutive balls from London. He also took on Hemchand Persaud in his lone over with back-to-back sixes. 

When Sital fell, bowled by pacer Samson as he attempted another big shot, Vishaul Jaigobind spun out the tail. He took two wickets in two balls to finish with 3-7 from 2.2 overs.