IN a low-scoring but exciting third annual Price is Right Supermarket T20 tournament, the Number 72 All Stars dethroned two-time defending champions Number 72 Cut and Load in the final at Vikings Number 69 ground, on Sunday.
From 24 teams, only two remained. The teams that featured in last year’s final were back to do battle in the 2026 finale, which was followed by an after-match party for the spectators who came out in massive numbers.
On a parched but heavy outfield due to the prolonged dry spell and a pitch that made free scoring difficult in steaming-hot conditions, the defending champions opted to bat under a cloudless sky.
Last year they successfully defended 109, but on Sunday, Number 72 Cut and Load suffered a dramatic collapse, slumping from 36 without loss to 86 all out in 17.3 overs.
Their opponents, from the same Village on the Corentyne, had some nervous moments before reaching 87-4 with lots of deliveries to spare.
The tournament was organised by the Upper Corentyne Cricket Association (UCCA) and sanctioned by the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB). It was held at a venue 10 minutes from the town of Corriverton, with the presentation ceremony and after-match party being held under floodlights.
The multi-million-dollar tournament was exclusively funded by Danesh Roopnarine and his family, proprietors of the popular Price is Right Super Supermarket.
The team prizes alone were valued at one million dollars, with the new Champions receiving $600,000, medals and the winner’s trophy. The runners-up took home $300,000, medals and a trophy, while Number 73 Warriors, who lost in the eliminator, got $100,000.
The capacity crowd produced a kaleidoscope of colour and was entertained by pulsating rhythms from the Crown Vibes Sound System. There was also live commentary by two International Radio commentators on Facebook and YouTube.
Number 72 Cut and Load began solidly with Claver Beresford and Kadil Agib putting together 36 for the first wicket before Parmeshwar Chatterpaul removed Agib for 22 with a four and first six of the game.
But while Beresford was batting well on a track with unpredictable bounce, pacer Wayne Garnett (2-25) and left-arm Berbice spinner Umesh Mathura (3-21) combined to orchestrate a colossal collapse, with seven wickets tumbling for just 20 runs.
During that time, Mathura, who extracted prodigious turn from the underprepared pitch, had Jermaine Reid and Davendra Jagernauth off consecutive balls with the score on 52-6 to be on a hat-trick.
With Beresford running out of partners, he hit a four and a six and dominated a 29-run eighth-wicket stand with Zameer Shaw (5 not out) before being dismissed at 83-7.
When Number 72 All Stars began their chase of the small target, Beresford removed Irfan Khan (3) at 12-1 before Parmeshwar Chatterpaul and Mahendra Bhoj (12) carried the score to 45 when Pablo Ramdat trapped Bhoj lbw to one that kept low.
Kamseshwar Chatterpaul (14) fell to Reid with seven to win while Beresford removed his older brother without addition to the score.
The third Chatterpaul sibling, Gavin Chatterpaul, joined Man-of-the-Match Mathura at 80-4 and the latter ended the contest with a couple of boundaries to end unbeaten on 13.
Beresford finished with 2-25.
