-Date for semi-finals to be announced soon

THE quarter finals of the GCB Tropical Spring T20 over-40 Tournament wrapped up on Sunday with commanding wins for WD Masters and Regal, who now prepare for the semi-final round, which will be announced in the near future. Action at the Jai Hind ground in Berbice, as well as at Enmore and the Everest cricket grounds, witnessed a number of teams vying for a chance in the important stages of the competition. WD Mavericks won by 24 runs At the Everest Cricket Club ground, West Demerara Masters won the toss and elected to bat, posting a massive 174-7 in 20 overs, a target seemingly well-beyond their competitor’s capability. Batting for the entirety of his team’s inning, Elroy Fernandes contributed 61 runs, stroking 6 sixes and 3 fours, with much excitement from his teammates.

Opening batsman, Ramesh Thakur contributed 27, Patrick Khan 24 and Deoram Persaud, steadily behind with 18 runs. Fazeer Khan, on the bowler’s end to collect more than a single wicket, returning figures of 2-13 in 3 overs. Meanwhile, Imam Bacchus’ team quickly fell off the hands of the WD Masters, with Boodram Sugrim (3-12), proving a force to be reckoned with. Eager to restrict the opponents, and lending a helping hand to his colleague, Steve Haripal (2-18) also played an instrumental role. Ramnarine was the sole batsman to attain a reasonable score, hitting 2 sixes and 1 four, to top his contribution at 20 runs. His team crumbled in 19.4 overs in which they scraped 84 runs, having exhausted their line-up.

Over at the Enmore Community Centre ground, WD Mavericks decided to bat first, in a reduced-overs match due to scattered showers. At the end of the allotted 14 overs, the Mavericks collectively made 93-7, which they hoped would be an uphill battle for their opponents At number three, Lalta Sukhnanan, undefeated, hit 1 six and 2 fours, launching him to 45 runs, with David Albert, the only other major contributor, sweeping 14 runs under his name. The reliance bowlers were aggressive in their pursuit, namely Premnauth Persaud (2-17), Elroy Stephney (2-18) and Trevis Simon (2-23) to contain the batsmen, and ultimately the score they would have to chase. For the reply, the Reliance team made 69-8 in the allotted 14 overs. Top scorer, Teddy Manchal, made a meager 13 before being adjudged LBW off Devindra Ramdehol (1-20), and colleagues Elroy Stephney at 12, and Ramesh Narine 11, also adjudged LBW off Sohan Bedasi, who was one of the most dominant bowler, returning figures of 4-4 runs. Mohan Chaitram, too, sent two batsmen on their way, conceding 18 runs. Regal Won by 9 wickets.

The second scheduled match at Enmore featured West Berbice battling against Regal Masters, in which the former team won the toss and elected to bat. Their innings ended on 81-7 from the allotted 20 overs. Rajban Hemraj and Trevor Crawford, both opening batsmen, contributed the most significant scores for their inning with 29 and 26 runs, respectively. On the bowling end, Chien Gittens (2-9) collected a single additional wicket than his peers. Regal Masters raced to reach their target, which was achieved in just 9.1 overs to hand them a win by 9 wickets. Positioning his team for victory was Chien Gittens with 48 runs, before Rajban Hemraj (1-18) sent him on his way. Anthony Ifill and Roy Persaud together led the way to victory, contributing 21 and 08 runs respectively.

Over at Jai Hind Ground, West Berbice batted first, scoring 127-8 in their allotted 20 overs. Arthur Duke, 46, Oslyn Batson 26, and Richard Ramdeen 22, were among the top-scoring batsmen for their team. Narine Deonarine (2-7) and Deoprakash Ramdat (2-17) were the wicket-takers. In reply, Jai Hind Jaguars again added another win to their collection. Scoring 128-4 in 17.1 overs, with 6 wickets in hand, seemed too easy a win. Opener, Imran Hussain top scored with 45, drawing support from number three batsman, Kamraj Sumair with 39 and Anil Beharry, not out on 29 runs. Chandrite Jeenarine took 2-34. Meanwhile, the semi-finals will feature an exciting battle between West Demerara Masters and West Demerara Mavericks, while Jai Hind Jaguars will face Regal Masters.