THE Rose Hall Canje Community Centre Cricket Club last Sunday defeated defending champions Rose Hall Town Poonai Pharmacy by 15 runs to emerge as champions, for the first time, of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB)/Romario Shepherd Under-13 tournament.

Playing in front of a sizable crowd of parents and cricket fans at the Area H Ground, the visiting team successfully defended their total of 65 to lift their first-ever youth title.

The BCB is the only county board that organises competitions for Under-13 players. The tournament was sponsored by West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd.

Rose Hall Canje Cricket Club won the toss and elected to bat first on a beautiful day to play cricket, blessed with sunshine.

They scored 65 all out off 23.2 overs; Richard Ramdeholl scored 13, Tyrese McPherson 9 and extras scored 26 runs. Bowling for Rose Hall Town Poonai Pharmacy, Dinesh Singh grabbed 5 wickets for 4 runs off 3 overs while he was supported by Balraj Narine who grabbed 2 for 15 off 5 overs.

Rose Hall Town Poonai, in reply, were bundled out for 50 off 20.4 overs with captain Tameshwar Deonandan (16) being the only batter to reach double figures.

Richard Ramdeholl grabbed 5 for 5 off 4.1 overs which included a hat-trick. He was supported by Aarush Hemraj 4 for 6 off 4 overs.

Chairman of the BCB Competitions Committee, Leslie Solomon, congratulated Rose Hall Canje on their historic achievement and urged them to remain focused.

Speaking directly to the youths, he urged them to always strive for excellence and reassured them that the board under the leadership of Hilbert Foster would continue to invest into their career and future.

He also disclosed that the BCB for 2022 has successfully completed tournaments at the Under-13, Under-15 and Under-17 levels and is currently working on the Under-19 tournament.

BCB secretary Angela Haniff expressed thanks to West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd and his wife for their sponsorship of the tournament.

She noted that it is very pleasing to the BCB when players invest in the game that made them household names and assist the board to continue the rich legacy of Berbice cricket.

Both teams received trophy and cash prize while Richard Ramdeholl carried home the Player-of-the-Finals award.