In preparation for the 50 over version of the Jaguars Franchise League which is scheduled to start on Thursday December 22, West Demerara Cricket Association (WDCA) hosted its first trial match on Monday at the Canal Number Two ground where 30 players showcased their skills to earn a spot in the final 14.
Malcolm Hubbard
During that trial match Yutesh Dhanpaul and Malcolm Hubbard were the only batmen to surpass fifty while S. Khan and Marvin Cheong got four wicket hauls.
Due to a late start caused by wet outfield from overnight rain, the match was reduced to 40 overs per side. Team B won the toss and chose to bat, compiling 179 all out in 32 overs.
Yutesh Dhanpaul 58 (4×6 4×4) and Malcom Hubbard 53 (5×6 4×4) led the batting after they were struggling at 26/3 off 12 overs. The pair joined forces to put on 94 runs for the fourth wicket partnership. The partnership was so ruthless that at one stage, Hubbard took 20 off Travis Persaud in one over and Dhanpaul smashed 16 off an over bowled by Richie Looknauth.
However, when that partnership was broken at 126/4, Team A continue to make constant inroads as Team B collapsed for 179 all out. No one else reached double figures. Hubbard was caught by Persaud off Marvin Cheong’s bowling while Dhanpaul was stumped by Adrian Johnson as Cheong was responsible for the demise of both Team B’s top batsmen of the day.
Cheong finished with figures of 4/30 from five overs while Kevin Paul 1/8 and V.Jadnauth 2/10 supported him. In their turn at the crease, Team A fell eight runs short for 171 all out in 39.3 overs after a good start between C. Ramcharan and B. Shivpersaud worth 48 runs. Shivpersaud and Looknauth made 24 apiece and Deoram Chanderbir made 19. S. Khan spearheaded Team B’s bowling with 4/40 and A. Safraz 2/5 claimed two wickets.
The next trial match is yet to be confirmed but it is expected to bowl off on Saturday.
