Guyanese cricketers turn up at whiteball inter-county

They were tagged the underdogs just before the commencement of the Dassy in association with Dent Wizard and PGI Limited whiteball four-team inter-county competition last Saturday, but they proved that that tag was wrong with a comprehensive seven-wicket win against Berbice in the championship game at Keele Top, Toronto.
Berbice, who defeated Essequibo in an intense semi-final showdown, took first strike at the invitation of the all-Stars side, but struggled to 127 all out off 19.3 overs; while the All-Stars, in response, romped home with 7.3 overs to spare.
There was a procession of wickets by the Berbicians as they were placed dangerously at 45-6, but a responsible 33 from skipper Looknauth Ramsuchit and a supportive 23 from Linden Persaud helped give Berbice a respectable total.
Once the cream of the Berbice batting was back in the hut, including Hemnarine Chattergoon, Riaz Kadir, Yadram Bogh, Damodar Daesrath, the innings never suggested full recovery.

Bholanauth Sukhu and Rabindra Diaram bowled in tandem, and also with precision. Sukhu was impressive with 3-16 from his allotted four overs, while Diaram claimed 2-19 from his four separated overs. They were superbly backed up by an unlikely bowling star, Royston Crandon, a former Guyana and West Indies player.
Crandon was able to break the 51-run seven-wicket stand between the fluent Ramsuchit and Persaud, and finished with 2-16 off 2.3 overs.
When the Canadian All-Stars batted, they began their chase in belligerent fashion, as Farouk Hussain (29) hit four towering sixes and featured in an aggressive 49-run first-wicket alliance with Harrienarine Chattergoon (03). Captain Anil Ramotar came in at number three, and continued the flamboyant approach by contributing a steady 18.

At 71-3 from 6.5 overs, Crandon and Zaheer Allard formalized things by scoring an unbeaten 33 and 28-not-out respectively without further fuss in glorious sunshine.
In the other semis, All-Stars got the better of Demerara in a closely-fought match as well.
At the presentation ceremony just after the game, the All-Star boys received a trophy and Cds$2,000, while the runners-up took home a trophy and Cds$1,000.
Ramotar was adjudged the best batsman overall, having accumulated 84 runs from two innings; while Kadir captured the best bowler overall, for taking five wickets from two games as well.
For the championship encounter, Sukhu was named the best bowler and Crandon the best batsman. Each collected a trophy. Sukhu was also named the Most Valuable Player, and he carted off a trophy for this feat.
Organizer of the one-day softball extravaganza, Daesrath, said he was overwhelmed with the day’s activities, and thanked the teams for their participation.
The former Guyana skipper also reserved special mention for the main and supporting sponsors, and promised to make the inter-county competition an annual affair.
Daesrath also expressed his gratitude to all those who would have contributed towards the success of Saturday’s 20-over per-a-side exhibition.
The other sponsors of the day’s activities were: Trophy Stall, Caribbean Heat Restaurant, T&S Enterprise, Caribbean Lyme Restaurant, 24-Hrs Glass System, JDG Tooling, Canadian Surplus Guyana, and Hawaiian Arctic.
(Ravi Madholall in Toronto)