GCB senior inter-county…GCB Senior Inter-County 2023: Anderson presents strong case for selection with majestic century
By Brandon Corlette at Providence
22-year-old batsman Kevlon Anderson has presented a strong case for selection to the Guyana Harpy Eagles squad with an impressive century in the opening round of the Guyana Cricket Board’s (GCB’s) Senior Inter-County Four-Day tournament.
Anderson’s classy innings of 106 and Junior Sinclair’s pugnacious 84 not-out took Berbice to 312-8 in 83 overs, equipping the Ancient County with a lead of 30 heading into day three of the game.
Berbice began their innings when inexperienced senior debutants Adrian Sukwah and Javed Karim taking strike. Smooth in his approach, Torrington trapped Sukwah at the crease for one, and Karim played a loose shot and was caught at cover for three off Ronaldo Ali-Mohamed.
But fresh from a stint playing club cricket in Trinidad and Tobago, Anderson came to the crease and looked at ease. He timed the ball to perfection, although he survived a close leg-before call to Ashmead Nedd. He flicked the ball with ease and grace to the boundary, and was standing tall on 24 not out at lunch, while Jonathan Foo was caught in the slip cordon for 16 off a probing Christopher Barnwell when the Berbice score was at 47-3 in 12.5 overs.
After lunch, Barnwell continued from where he left off, showing his class and experience while hitting a consistent line and length. He trapped Anthony Bramble (00) leg-before at 47-4 after 14.1 overs, but Anderson continued to display class as he reached his half-century with a guide and a square cut to the boundary.
The selectors were seen applauding Anderson’s efforts as the former West Indies Under-19 batsman reached a well-deserved fifty.
Initially looking good, Kevin Sinclair threw away his wicket for 22 when he was caught at slip by Richie Looknauth. Romario Shepherd came and also fell victim to a Looknauth catch at the wicket after scoring 15 runs.
Anderson, however, continued to gather runs, and reached his century with a boundary past backward square-leg. Soon after, Anderson was dismissed after being caught at mid-on off the bowling of Sankar. He scored 106 runs from 194 balls in an innings that lasted for 244 minutes, during which he struck 13 boundaries. His dismissal ended an 84-run stand.
Pugnacious in his stroke-play, the right-hander Junior Sinclair cleared the ropes with finesse as he added 50 runs with Permaul (25) to put Demerara under more pressure.
Nial Smith was unbeaten on 15 while Junior Sinclair had 84 runs from 119 balls, including nine fours and four sixes in an innings that spanned 177 minutes. Ali Mohammed and Looknauth had 2-63 and 2-68 respectively.
Resuming day two on 228-9, Demerara’s final wicket kept Berbice at bay. Richie Looknauth, who resumed on 19, smashed his way to a half-century. Qumar Torrington played the supporting role as the Berbicians lost the plot in the morning session.
Looknauth played the shot of the morning when he thumped Kevin Sinclair over the extra cover boundary for a six. He
ended unbeaten on 67 from 84 balls in an innings which had seven fours and three sixes.
The Demerara innings ended on 282 all out in 94.5 overs when Nial Smith bowled Torrington for six. Looknauth and Torrington added 54 runs for the final wicket. Permaul ended with 4-59 in 31 overs, while Kevin Sinclair had 2-49 in 15 overs. Smith had 2-46 in 11.5 overs.
The third day will resume at Providence from 9:30h today.