By Calvin Chapman

ON Tuesday, at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground, Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) defeated West Demerara by 37 runs to win the Demerara leg of the Republic Bank/Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Under-23 50-over tournament and book their national playoff spot against Albion who won Berbice’s leg.

Under the watchful eyes of rising star coach, Darien Best, DCC amassed 207 runs batting first. Indrajeet Nanan top scored for the winners with 55 runs (61 balls), stroking 10 boundaries inclusive of eight 4’s.
DCC’s skipper, Nikosi Beaton hit 43 runs (from 54 balls) with three 4’s and two 6’s while Ezekiel Wilson’s quick-fire 30 runs (26 balls) were both instrumental to the Queenstown club reaching the competitive figure.

Ushardeva Balgobin took a five-wicket haul for West Demerara from 10 overs, conceding just 39 runs inclusive of two maidens.
In reply, West Demerara’s score of 170 was the most conceded by DCC in the tournament thus far but it was not enough. Sachin Balgobin belted 75 runs in a losing effort. His innings comprised eight 4’s and one 6.
DCC’s Daniel Mootoo led the bowling attack with three wickets for 29 runs from his 10 while Kareem Whitney and Jonathan Van Lange grabbed two wickets each.

In an invited comment, DCC’s coach, Best, shared with Chronicle Sport that, “To get to this point it wasn’t one player. In every game thus far a player has stepped up. It has been a good collaborative effort.”
“Our game plan is to be aggressive and we stuck to it although we batted subpar total at the top, the middle order really helped us get to a competitive score.”

Meanwhile, DCC’s captain, Beaton, highlighted that, “It’s a great group of guys. Very talented. On paper our skill set are better that any opposition and today we came out and did what mattered most, we delivered.”
“I am hoping to get some guys from my team into the inter-county and national-side and the only way to ensure that is by continuing to win.”