Anderson slams unbeaten 128 as Rose Hall Town Pepsi clinch title

BCB/Shimron Hetmyer 2019 Intermediate Tournament…

West Indies under-19 selectee Kevlon Anderson showed his class and demonstrated why he is widely regarded as Guyana’s best youth batsman when he stroked a majestic 128 not out to lead his team, Rose Hall Town Pepsi, to a 19-run victory over Albion in the finals of the Shimron Hetmyer/Berbice Cricket Board Intermediate tournament on Saturday last.

Playing in front of a sizeable crowd at the Port Mourant Ground, Anderson used his feet well to tackle the all-spin Albion bowling attack, which comprised Kevin Umroa, Beesham Surujnarine, Devindra Latchman, Gourav Ramesh, Sarwan Chaitnarine, Kandasammy Surujnarine and Ramesh Kasinauth.
Having won the toss, Rose Hall Town elected to bat on a dry pitch. They lost the attacking Kevin Sinclair for five in the second over, when off-spinner Surujnarine trapped him in front after he missed a sweep shot.
Anderson, batting at the crucial number three position, joined fellow national junior player Junior Sinclair, and they repaired their team’s innings by adding 95 crucial runs in 20 overs before Sinclair was caught off left-arm spinner Gourav Ramesh for a well-crafted 35, which included three boundaries.
Surendra Kissoonlall and Anderson continued the repair job by adding another 55 runs for the third wicket, before Kissoonlall (18) sacrificed his wicket by getting involved in a mix-up with Anderson.

Former Berbice Under 19 all-rounder Keith Simpson then joined Anderson, and they took the score to 173 before Simpson was seemingly unlucky to be given out caught at the wicket by Ritesh Umroa for 07.
Anderson reached his century with a single to extra cover in the 38th over, before opening his arm to score 28 off the last nine balls of his innings (128 not out), which included ten boundaries and two massive sixes.
Former National Under 15 batsman Jonathan Rampersaud was the other unbeaten batsman on two.
Bowling for Albion, Beesham Surujnarine, Gourav Ramesh and Sarwan Chaitnarine each took one wicket: for 31, 34 and 23 respectively.
Needing to score 207 from 240 deliveries, Albion lost Jetendra Outar (00) and captain Kandasammy Surujnarine (01) to find themselves reeling at 12 for 2 in the 3rd over.
Former National Under 19 pacer Sylus Tyndall, in a fiery opening spell, had Outar caught behind by Kevin Sewraj, while Surujnarine’s wickets were sent flying. National Under 17 batsman Sarwan Chaitnarine and Berbice Under 17 player Reyad Karim struggled to get the ball away in a 3rd wicket partnership before Karim threw away his wicket to off-spinner Junior Sinclair for 21.
Kevin Sinclair then dismissed Chaitnarine for 09, Ritesh Umroa and Ramesh Kasinauth added 31 runs, but left-arm spinner Keith Simpson broke the partnership when Kasinauth was caught at the wicket with Albion on 84 for 5 in the 22nd over. Big hitting Anthonio February joined Umroa, and together they took the attack to the Rose Hall Pepsi team before leg-spinner Shawn Pereira had February caught by Keith Simpson for 26, and then Kevin Sinclair dismissed Umroa for 56.
Albion eventually were dismissed for 187 off 39.3 overs to suffer a 19-run defeat despite a quick-fire 26 by Devendra Latchman batting at No 9. Bowling for the champions, Sylus Tyndall took 2 for 15 (5 overs), Kevin Sinclair 2 for 53 (8 overs), Junior Sinclair took 3 for 18, Shawn Pereira took 2 for 31 (8 overs), and Keith Simpson took 1 for 29 as the successful bowlers.
Anderson was named Man of the Finals, while the champions and runners-up took home $100,000.00 and $50,000.00 respectively along with trophies.
BCB President Hilbert Foster praised both teams for playing a final game of the highest order, and for doing so in an atmosphere of friendliness.
Rose Hall Town and Albion, as the top two clubs in Berbice, have a duty to lead by example, and Foster has hailed the relationship that the clubs currently enjoy.
The BCB boss also expressed gratitude to West Indies player Shimron Hetmyer for his sponsorship of the tournament, which serves as a bridge between Second and First Division players. Foster has said that at the end of his twenty-two-month term in December, a record 58 tournament would have been completed at the schools, U13, U15, U17, U19, U21, female,
second division, double wickets, intermediate, internal zone and first division levels. He said he is very pleased when cricketers assist administrators to develop the game, and hailed Hetmyer as a true Berbician for remembering where his career started.