BCB/Dior’s Bits and Pieces U23: RHT Pepsi roll over Albion to lift 2023 title

…Matthew Pottaya named Man of the Match

A brilliant all- round performance by national Under-17 Vice Captain Matthew Pottaya spearheaded his team Rose Hall Town Pepsi to defeat Albion in the final of the Berbice Cricket Board/Dior’s Bits and Pieces Under-23 tournament.
The final was played at the Bush Lot Sports Club Ground in West Berbice in steamy weather before a fair-sized crowd.
Albion, led by former national Under-19 player Kelvin Umroa, elected to bat first against the Kevlon Anderson-led Rose Hall Town Pepsi.
Albion were given a flying start with Ari Arizal Kadir tearing into Anderson and Raj Tika. They lost Tameshwar Mangal caught behind by Sohil Mohammed off Anderson at 29 for one in the third over. Damian Cecil joined Kadir at the crease and they added 26 for the second wicket before Cecil was trapped lbw by national Under-19 off spinner Jonathan Rampersaud for 14.

Kadir was then dismissed to leave Albion at 65 for three in the 12th over. The introduction of national youth spinner Jeremy Sandia and Matthew Pottaya caused several headaches for the Albion team as they lost their last seven wickets for just 53 runs to be dismissed for 118 in the 31st over. The batsmen dismissed by the left-arm spin of Sandia were Afraz Budhoo (5); Gaurav Ramesh (0); Leon Cecil (15) and Umroa (1) while Pottaya got rid of Devin Lalbehari (3) and Nazeem Khan (0).

Amazon Warriors all-rounder Junior Sinclair got rid of Arvin Jawarhir, who scored 18 including two boundaries. Sandia ended with four for 18 from seven very impressive overs while Pottaya had 2 for 1, Rampersaud 2 for 17, Sinclair 1 for 17, and Anderson 1 for 33.
With their team needing to score 119 from their allotted 40 overs to lift another Berbice championship, Rose Hall Town Pepsi openers Sinclair and the promising Romesh Bharrat added 29 before Sinclair was caught off Jawarhir for 12. Bharrat soon followed Sinclair at 36 for 2 in the sixth over when he was also dismissed by Jawarhir, but level-headed batting by Sandia took Rose Hall Town Pepsi to victory with 13 overs remaining. Victory was achieved via a wide delivery to Sohil Mohammed. Jawarhir took 2 for 23 and Cecil 2 for 18. They were the best bowlers for Albion while Nazeem Khan, Umroa and Gourav Ramesh each took a wicket.

Berbice Competition Committee Chairman Leslie Solomon hailed the tournament as a success and expressed thanks to Sandie Ross for her support of Berbice cricket.
BCB President Cecil Beharry congratulated both teams on a competitive final, and pledged that his administration would continue to organise similar tournaments in the future.
Dior’s Bits and Pieces representative Ranjiv Kishan stated that Sandie Ross was very happy to sponsor the tournament. He expressed satisfaction with the way the tournament was organised by the Dr Beharry administration. The winning team received $100,000 and the championship trophy while Albion took home $50,000 and a trophy. The Man of the Final, Pottaya, also took home a financial prize and a trophy. Rose Hall Town Pepsi Captain Anderson dedicated his team’s victory to the management and staff of the Demerara Distillers Limited, especially the marketing representative of Pepsi.