The Cotton Tree Cricket Ground on Sunday last hosted its first-ever Berbice cricket final as the curtains came down on the Berbice Cricket Board’s West Berbice Magic Moments 20/20 Tournament.
The winning Blairmont team posed with BCB officials
Blairmont Community Centre easily defeated the home team by 70 runs to be crowned champions, while Number 5 Monedderlust got past Bush Lot Rising Star by four wickets to claim the third-place prize.
The final was played in front of a large crowd, which included BCB President Hilbert Foster, Secretary Robby Saywack and West Berbice Cricket Association (WBCA) President David Black.
Blairmont won the toss and elected to bat on the placid pitch, and were able to amass a formidable 215 for 5 from 20 overs, with Zaheer Nasir top scoring with a brilliant 81 not out. He received support from National Under-19 all-rounder Javed Karim, who batted well to score 54 and opener Kevin Jawahir (34).
Nasir started a little slowly before opening up to hit seven massive sixes on the small ground. The experienced Roshan Gafoor took 2-39 and Wagar Hassan bagged 2-40 for Cotton Tree.
Needing to score 216 to win their first-ever BCB title, Cotton Tree were unable to negotiate the spin duo of Guyana Under-17 player Seon Glasgow (3-11) and Jawahir (2-25).
They were bowled out for 145 off 15.4 overs, with Pooran Persaud (39); Nick Ramsaroop (35) and Narshad Gafoor (25) being the principal scorers. Blairmont skipper Shabeer Baksh took 2 for 14 to support Glasgow and Jawahir.
In the third-place playoff, Number 5 Monedderlust defeated Bush Lot Rising Star after the match was reduced to 15 overs after overnight rain. Bush Lot were reduced to 11 for 4 before recovering to 81 for 9. Glenroy Fraser top-scored with 28 while Keshan Fordyce supported with 23 as Carlton Nurse (4 -17); Travis Moriah (2-10) and M Schultz (2-18) bowled well for Number 5. Skipper Arthley Bailey (47) and M Singh (16) then batted well to take their team home in 11.3 overs. Carlton Grant took 3-15 and Javed Saywack grabbed 2-11 in the best bowling performances for Bush Lot.
At the presentation ceremony, an elated BCB President Foster announced that he was delighted at the large number of spectators attending matches once again across Berbice, as Berbicians see the return of passion and love for the game. Foster also noted, to loud applause, that Berbice cricket was on top of the ladder after three years of despair.
He expressed gratitude to Sueria Manufacturing Ltd and its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Frank Sanichara for sponsoring the four Magic Moments Tournaments in Upper Corentyne, Lower Corentyne, New Amsterdam/Canje and West Berbice. He congratulated Blairmont Cricket Club on their well-deserved title and praised the Club for its youth-focused policy. WBCA President Black also came in for praise, for his cooperation in organising the tournament in the sub-zone. Zaheer Nasir was named Man of the Final and, along with the winning team and runners-up, carried home trophies and cash incentives.
