BCB-MASS Inter-Secondary School: Algoo, Kisten all-round brilliance leads BEI to championship honours

The Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) on Friday successfully completed another cricket tournament as the vibrant body pushes ahead with its 2023 cricket season.
The latest tournament to be completed is the MASS Inter-Secondary School 30-over tourney for schools in the New Amsterdam/Canje sub-zone. The final was played at the Rose Hall Community Centre in blazing sunlight.
National Under-17 all-rounder Sanjay Algoo led his team Berbice Educational Institute (BEI) to an easy 183-run victory over Vryman’s Erven Secondary School. Batting first after winning the toss, the BEI amassed 234 for six from their allocated 30 overs. Skipper Algoo, who played for Guyana at the Under-17 level this year, scored 72 with five boundaries and four sixes. Gavin Kisten chipped in with a solid 70 from 61 balls inclusive of five boundaries and one maximum. Jayden Edwards supported Algoo and Kisten with a well-played 43 from 45 balls. Bowling for Vryman’s Erven, female bowler Crystal Durant took four wickets for 48 runs from six overs. Durant is the first female cricketer to lead a secondary school cricket team in Berbice.

Needing to score 231 runs from their allocated 30 overs, Vryman’s Erven never measured up to the task and were bowled out for a mere 47 in 8.3 overs, with only Shawn Alert reaching double figures with 16 not out featuring two boundaries and a six. Algoo, a Berbice First Division player, claimed seven wickets for nine runs from four overs with his penetrative leg spin while Kisten took 3 for 34 with his medium pace. Algoo was named Man of the Final for his attractive 72 and seven for nine.
Earlier, BEI defeated New Amsterdam Secondary School by 132 runs to reach the final. Playing at the same venue, BEI had amassed a healthy 217 for seven from 30 overs, with Jayden Edwards 51 not out and Algoo stroking 48. In reply, New Amsterdam Secondary School were bundled out for 85 in 21 overs as Algoo took five wickets for 23 runs. Only Avishkar Beharry offered any resistance with 17 in a disappointing innings.
BCB Competition Committee Chairman Leslie Solomon stated that the tournament, which is sponsored by Mohammed Ali Security Service (MASS), involved six schools in the area – Vryman’s Erven, Canje Secondary, Berbice High School, BEI, New Amsterdam Secondary and Tutorial Secondary. Solomon, who is also a Berbice selector and Coach, expressed profound gratitude to MASS Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Aubrey David for the sponsorship.
BCB executive member Winston Smith congratulated the champions on a well-deserved victory and expressed delight with the talent he saw on display. BCB President Hilbert Foster stated that the Board has now completed three of the four sub-associations’ Inter-Secondary School tournaments – with Bush Lot Secondary winning the West Berbice leg; Lower Corentyne Secondary, the Lower Corentyne leg and BEI, the New Amsterdam/Canje title. The remaining leg to be completed is the Upper Corentyne leg. The four champions would then clash in a special tournament for the overall Berbice championship.
The BCB President disclosed that his administration had assisted all the secondary schools in the county with cricket gear and team uniforms among other items.