Essequibo Coast Cricket Club pick up 2 wins in OSCL competition

… Madholall, Ramnauth complete fruitful weekend

It was an auspicious start for Essequibo Coast Cricket Club in the 2021 Ontario Softball Cricket League (OSCL) 20-over round-robin competition. On Saturday, they thrashed Miss Phoebe by a massive 156 runs at Ashtonbee Park, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. And then on Sunday at Littles venue, also in Scarborough, Essequibo Coast beat Three Counties by eight wickets.
In Saturday’s opening fixture, Essequibo Coast won the toss and opted to take first strike. They rattled up a formidable 203-4, including 36 penalty runs due to slow over rate by Miss Phoebe. Skipper Kenny Ramsawak made 50 while Oliver Manniram also scored 50. Davo Ramsawak (unrelated) cracked a cameo 33 and opener Tony Singh 18.

When Miss Phoebe batted, they had extras as the top score (13). Ravendra “Grajo” Madholall snatched 4-8 from four overs while Captain Ramsawak supported with 2-8 in his two-over spell and Ivan Narine had 1-3 off two overs.
On Sunday, the action was more intense as Three Counties tallied up a challenging 151-6 off 19 overs, including penalty runs. Rakesh Ramotar made 44 while Essequibo Coast conceded 22 extras. On the bowling side, it was one wicket each for Ramsawak, Romel Harripersaud, Madholall and Nicolas Sanichara.
When Essequibo Coast batted, they reached 157-2 off 18 overs with Madholall hitting an unbeaten 92, which included six sixes and three fours. Narine contributed 18, but retired hurt while Sanichara made 16 and Devon Ramnauth, 7 not out.

The 12-team tournament is set to resume next weekend with back-to-back matches. Notably, the Essequibo Coast Cricket Club were formed this year to participate in the competition. It was founded by Ramsawak and Dave Ramnauth.
The Essequibo Coast Cricket Club (Toronto) feature members who hail from throughout the Essequibo Coast and now live in Canada. Members include veterans Bertram “Ivan” Naraine and Raj Sankar (nephew of the late Kayman Sankar). Other notable members comprise former Essequibo and Guyana players Ravendra Madholall, Devon Ramnauth, Motie Naraine, Dilon Heyliger, Fazil Gani and Rakesh Gobardhan. Other Essequibians include Kenny Ramsawak, Nicolas Sanichara, Chandarpaul “Tony” Singh, Oliver Manram, Prem Narine, Kumar Singh, Allan “Stump” Ramnauth and Zaheer Mohamed. The Club’s objective is to build a strong bond between Essequibians and promote good sportsmanship.
The 12-team competition is expected to run until September 19 on a round-robin basis.