DEFENDING champions of the New Building Society (NBS) 40-over Second-Division cricket competition, the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) stormed to a five-wicket victory against the Gandhi Youth Organisation (GYO) at home yesterday.

Winston Forrester led the winners with a good all-round performance. The off-spinner grabbed four wickets before he returned with the bat to score 38 runs.

Inserted to take first strike, GYO batsmen were initially tentative, as it took more than two overs for them to get off the mark.

Openers Yudistir Persaud and Christopher Deonarine put together 29 for the opening wicket, with the latter doing the damage.

Deonarine clobbered three fours and a six, for 24 runs off 19 balls, before he fell to opening bowler Bernard Bailey. His partner batted slower for 23.

Several other batsmen also had starts, but none dominated. Joshua Ramsammy and Neiland Cadogan (3×6) finished with 36 runs each, but both fell victims to Forrester, who cleaned up the middle order to finish with 4-44 from 7.4 over as GYO laboured to 192 in 38.4 overs.

Bailey also nabbed three scalps, while Stephon Wilson took a pair.

Jeetendra Sookdeo (39) and Timothy McAlmont (23) then carried the home team to 69 before GYO took a few wickets.

Forrester (38 2×4) and youngster Mavindra Dindyal (28 1×4) steadied the innings in the middle before Ronaldo Alimohamed 32* (1×4, 2×6) and Bailey 12* (2×4) carried their team home in 37 overs.