Keith Simpson delivered a spell worthy of man-of-the-match recognition when he bowled Berbice to an emphatic 4-wicket win over the National U-17 XI, causing the Ancient County side to be crowned champs of the 2018 GCB/Hand-in-Hand U-19 Inter-County 50-Overs competition, which adds to the Berbice side’s three-day success.
The victorious Berbice Under-19 team pose with their accolades in the presence of officials of the Guyana Cricket Board and title sponsor, Hand-in-Hand Insurance
After a few cancellations due to rain, the finals got underway at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, where the two sides met in a good cricket match.
Batting first, Seon Glasgow’s classy 51, with eight fours and a six, coupled with Andre Seepersaud’s 46 not-out, which also included 8 boundaries, kept the U17’s afloat as they mustered a meagre 133 all out in 42.5 of the revised quota of 48 overs.
U-17 skipper Sachin Persaud fell for duck as spinner Keith Simpson’s wizardry allowed him to return figures of 4-33, backed by 2-19 from skipper Kevlon Anderson, which capped off another good performance with the ball from Berbice.
Chasing a decent target on a lush Providence track, Berbice — as they have been doing all tourney long — knocked off the target in 37.2 overs, ending on 137-6. The batting charge was led by Javed Karim batting at three, who made 38 while Kevin Sinclair chipped in with 28.
Starts from openers Alex Algoo (10), Junior Sinclair (13) and Anderson, who scored 13 as well, helped their side effortlessly run down an easy target with wickets and runs to spare. Deodat, in a brave effort, returned to claim 3-23 in vain.
Following the match, numerous awards were presented, some of which included, Most Runs (366) Bhaskar Yadram (Demerara); Most Wickets (22) Ashmead Nedd (Demerara); Most Dismissals (15) Junior Sinclair (Berbice); and Most Valuable Player (MVP) Kevlon Anderson (14 wickets 239 runs). (Clifton Ross)
