GDF deny Police victory despite Savory’s 79… GYO trample GNIC

BY Timothy Jaikarran

The action took to the field as the Guyana Defense Force defeated the Police Force by 14 runs in a thriller that went down to the wire that saw Kemol Savory produce a brilliant 79 in a losing effort in the Noble House Seafood 2nd Division 40 over tournament at Camp Ayangana.
Due to inclement weather the 40 over that was allotted to the teams was reduced to 25 overs per side. The Police won the toss and sent the soldiers in to bat on the damp pitch as they expected them to struggle for runs. Opening the batting for the soldiers were Leon Andrews and Kevin Sinclair who got off to a cautious start as they basically ran singles, however, Andrews fell victim to Jason Heyliger for 2 as he was caught attempting a big shot too early in the game. This brought Randy Lindore to crease, from there on it was the Sinclair and Lindore show as they picked the gaps easily and scored maximums and boundaries at will. However Sinclair then fell to Hemchan Persaud for 33, a few balls later Lindore joined Sinclair in the pavilion as he was ran out for 34 to leave two fresh faces at the crease and the defense force in need of rebuilding and innings. From there on nothing worked correct for the soldiers as everything around them began to crumble as within a quick period they lost the wickets of Terry Fraser who was trapped leg before for 3 off the superb bowling of Mark Gonsalves, Damion Waldron who attempted to carry on but failed miserably as he was also trapped leg before leg before for 20 off the bowling of Eon Rodrigues. Things then spun out of control as Quacy McPherson and Nakietho Nestor fell for 2 and 14 respectively off the bowling of Kelvin Leitch and Vishal Jaigobin. But, in came Joshua Jones who struck a quick-fire 39 off thirteen balls to lift the hopes of the soldiers, the burly all-rounder utilized his strength to his advantage as he disposed of the Police bowlers with ease. In came leg spinner Vishal Jaigobin who disposed of Jones after he was hit for two consecutive sixes over long on. From there on it was never the same as when Jones departed so did the rest of the team as the rest of the wickets fell cheaply. Bowling for Police were Eon Rodrigues with figures of 4-34-1, Jason Heyliger 5-36-1, Hemchan Persaud 5-16-1, Mark Gonsalves 2-4-1, Kelvin Leitch 4.4-33-2 and Vishal Jaigobin 1-13-2.
Needing 167 for victory off 25 overs Police went about their run chance in an aggressive manner that resulted in them losing the wickets of openers Reginal Rodrigues for 11 as he was caught by Kevin Sinclair off the bowling of Damion Waldron and Paul Tyndal who was then bowled by Sinclair for 10. In came Kemol Savory who was patient and exercised good judgment in his shot selection to give Police a fighting chance. After running two singles, Savory smacked three scintillating sixes that cleared the rope effortlessly as he showed his intent, however he received no support from his fellow teammate Andrew Lyght who was run out for a golden duck. Colvis Sam then came to the bowling end with the ball in his hand as Savory was beginning to look like a threat; Sam was unable to remove Savory as he was an exceptional talent who had no intention of departing the crease. Despite not being able to get rid of the now set Savory, Sam was able to remove Mark Gonsalves and Jason Heyliger for scores of 6 and 5 respectively. Nothing could budge Savory as he dug deeper and deeper; the soldiers were eager to dismiss Savory but rejoiced in the consolation wickets they picked up along the way. The off spinner Kevin Sinclair was able to add two more wickets to his tally as he out foxed Kelvin Leitch and Richard Leacock with two brilliant quicker balls that now exposed the tail enders and forcing all the pressure on Savory. As the pressure now got to Savory, he was forced to open his bat and let his bottom hand do the talking as he gradually chipped away at the total set before them. Damion Waldron then returned to pick up the wicket of Eon Rodrigues to leave the Police biting their nails in the pavilion. It was now the last over off the game and Police required 15 off 6 balls and Savory was at the non-strikers end. Vishal Jaigobin gently touched the ball to scamper a single to bring Savory on strike but the pressure was too much this resulted in Savory losing his wicket for a well played 79 and Police losing the match, the officers ended the match on 153 all-out in 24.3 overs. Bowling for the GDF were Kevin Sinclair with figures of 5-46-3, Damion Waldron 4.3-18.3, Colvis Sam 4-25-2 and Leon Andrews chipping in with 5-29-1.
While in the other fixture Gandhi Youth Organisation defeated GNIC in a one sided affair, batting first GYO composed a total of 157 all-out in 24.1 overs Ricky Sargent top scoring with a rapid 41 off 11 balls and R Shaun picking up figures of 7.1-4-6. In response GNIC were skittled out for a meager 58 as Dimitri Cameron wrecked the out of form GNIC with figures of 7.5-39-5.