GCB Female Inter-County 50-Over tourney: Heema Singh’s 5-for leads Demerara to comfortable win over Essequibo

Action in the GCB Female Inter-County 50-Over tournament continued yesterday with Demerara continuing their winning ways by defeating Essequibo by nine wickets in a one-sided affair played at the National Stadium at Providence, EBD.
Heema Singh’s five-wicket haul, followed up by an excellent four-wicket haul by Joann Van Sertima, sealed the deal for Demerara.
At the spin of the toss, Essequibo elected to bat first, and from the first ball bowled, they were in trouble. Wickets tumbled at a dizzying rate, and runs alarmingly began to dry up. Demerara had Essequibo on the ropes, and they capitalised on every opportunity as their bowlers kept a tight line and length and remained disciplined throughout their allotted overs.
Heema Singh was particularly brilliant with her spell of 5-4 off six overs, which included two maidens. She was able to remove the top five batters with ease, despite some resistance. Joann Van Sertima assisted Singh with figures of 4-20 off her 4.1 overs, and Akaze Thompson chipped in with 1-9 to dismiss Essequibo for 62 in 29.1 overs.
Needing a simple target of 63 for victory off a whopping 300 balls, Demerara pounced on a weakened Essequibo unit, and ended the game in 7.1 overs after spending 33 minutes on the field. Lashuna Toussaint’s score of 25 off 21 balls included four boundaries before she was dismissed by Rhona Jones.
And although the first wicket fell with the score on 45, it didn’t budge the Demerara unit, who were just a few runs away from back-to-back victories.
Demerara captain Cherry-Ann Fraser joined Mandy Mangru at the crease, and the duo guided their team over the line, with Mangru registering an unbeaten run-a-ball 18 while Fraser chipped in with 9 off 5 deliveries.
The action will continue today at the Providence Stadium from 09:00h with Berbice coming up against the Select XI. Guyana is, in early June, preparing to host the Regional Women’s Tournament, and this tourney is being used as a yardstick to select the Guyana team.