Berbice are well on their way to winning the 2018 Guyana Cricket Board (GCB)/Hand-in-Hand Insurance Under-19 Inter-County Three-day title after inflicting an eight-wicket trouncing on defending champions Demerara in a low-scoring affair at the Lusignan Community Centre Ground on Tuesday.
Last savouring three-day title success in 2015, the men from the Ancient County were more abreast with the conditions after the second day of play was ravaged by torrential rain. On a pitch offering considerable spin and some bounce, left-arm spinner Kevin Umroa proved to be a mystery for the formidable batting unit, grabbing 7-16 in 11.4 overs.
Man of the moment! Kevin Umroa is congratulated by teammates after a top performance with the ball
The 17-year-old stuck to his plans and outfoxed the batsmen who were lacking simple application in a match they would have been in the driving seat in had it not been for the abysmal second innings in which they were bundled out for 50 in 22.4 overs. Only Windies youth star Bhaskar Yadram made it into double figures with a score of 22.
Bowled! Nkosie Beaton is beaten all ends up by spinner Kevin Umroa at the Lusignan Community Centre Ground on Tuesday (Akeem Greene Photos)
The next best was opener Robin Williams with seven as off-spinner Karan Arjpaul, who exerted great control, chipped in with 2-20 which meant the visitors only needed 79 for victory, which was comfortably achieved shortly after the lunch interval.
A pugnacious Alex Algoo led the chase with a quick-fire 24-ball 38 (5x6s) in which he smashed off-spinner Sagar Hathiramani for three consecutive sixes over mid-wicket while Junior Sinclair (31) waded into some short-pitched bowling from the steamy Qumar Torrington.
A lofted six over deep cover by Captain Kevin Sinclair brought the curtains down in just nine overs. Spinner Ashmead Nedd ended with a match tally of 6-82, which moved him to 14 wickets in two matches. Earlier, Berbice, resuming on 102-5 in response to Demerara’s 148, were only able to add 15 more to their total as Nedd snared 5-54 and the lanky off-spin of Dwain Dick accounted for 4-26; Kevlon Anderson did the bulk of the scoring with an attractive 58 inclusive of 4 fours and 3 maximums. The final round commences today with Berbice and the National Select U-17 team playing at Everest while Essequibo host Demerara at the Tuschen Ground. Match time is 10:00h.
