By Ravi Madholall
Staggering from one disaster to another, Essequibo plummeted to 20 all out in their second round match of the Guyana Cricket Board Senior Female Inter-county tournament on Saturday at the Everest Cricket Club ground, Georgetown.
Having only scored a bewildering 15 runs on Thursday against defending champion Berbice at the same venue, there was a procession of wickets from the pitch to the pavilion for the girls from the Cinderella County as they went down by 10 wickets this time to hosts, Demerara.
Skipper and right-arm medium pacer Akazie Thompson mesmerized the visitors with six wickets for eight runs from her mean 4.1 overs in glorious sunshine. Hema Singh was also on target prizing out two wickets from the other four overs for 12 runs to support the virtually unplayable national player, Thompson.
Essequibo won the toss and like they did against Berbice without hesitation, opted to take firs strike on a pitch which seemed very animated. Only Keesha Tucker saved complete humiliation and was left unbeaten on 14 as wickets fell all around her as seven Essequibo batters were sent back to the pavilion before getting off the mark.
When the hosts batted, the experienced former West Indies opener June Ogle made 11 and in partnership with Mandy (7 not out) as they overhauled the target ending on 21 without loss.
Coach of the innocuous Essequibo side Harvey Gobin, lamented the poor performances and blamed it squarely on the lack of readiness by the team to compete in the competition. He believed that if the team had assembled two to three weeks prior to the competition, it could have been a different display.
“Obviously, we [are] disappointed with the two matches making only 15 and 20 runs; but only four players would have played at the senior level before while the team was not picked until 15 members came to Georgetown one day before, so I think it is just lack of preparations,” Gobin commented.
Many would also feel that something must be done drastically to improve the standard of cricket in Essequibo as they have been in the doldrums for way too long at all levels.
Head coach of Demerara, Clive Grimmond spoke with profound confidence after the game stating that Demerara can recapture the trophy from Berbice because he vehemently feels the team is gelling well and are on high after that comprehensive victory over Essequibo.
“Berbice is a good team but I am confident we can beat them; the girls were outstanding against Essequibo today (yesterday) and I am sure they are anxious to continue the winning ways, the batting is strong and we have some good spinners to do the job at Bourda,” Grimmond, who coached the women’s national side too, related.
He reserved special mention for the right-handed Ogle, who returned to the setup after a two-year break owing to the death of her father. Grimmond stated that Ogle has brought a wealth of experience in the batting department and is very upbeat she will do well in this confrontation against the Ancient County lineup.
Meanwhile, the action continues today with the final round match at the famous and former international facility Georgetown Cricket Club, Bourda when nemesis Berbice and Demerara clash for championship honours from 10:00h.
