GCB/Dave West Indian Imports U-15 Inter-County tournament…
Young Berbice Under-15 spin ‘king’ Salim Khan continued his dream inter-county tournament by picking up 7-16 against a jaded Essequibo team in the third round of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB)/Dave West Indian Imports U-15 Inter-County tournament at Lusignan.
Khan’s brilliant off-spin bowling set up a 10-wicket win for Berbice — the third in as many matches for the boys from the ancient county.
Essequibo won the toss, and elected to bat first in a decision that proved unfortunate for them, as they were bowled out for 42 in 25.3 overs. Only Adesh Dass reached double figures, scoring 14 as the off-spinner Khan spun webs all over the Essequibo team. He ended with 7-16 in 7.3 overs that included four maidens.
Salim Khan in action (Brandon Corlette photos)
He was well supported by the Guyana U-15 player Matthew Pottaya, a fellow off-spinner who ended with 3-10 in eight tight overs.
Berbice were clinical in their performance, and backed Khan with some good fielding. Their wicket-keeper Damion Cecil was equal to the task, as he demonstrated his sharpness behind the stumps.
Twice in the day Khan found himself on a hat trick, but did not cap off the job. In reply, Berbice reached the total without hiccups, ending on 44-0 in 5.2 overs.
Berbice captain, West Indies U-16 batsman Rampertab Ramnauth, sealed the match in style with a sweet pull shot that went for a six over square leg. Ramnauth was unbeaten on 19, while Nyron Hicks was unbeaten on four.
Essequibo bowlers were wayward in their approach, bowling 21 extras.
Matthew Pottaya bowling
Berbice completed a clean sweep of all three matches, and will be heading into the final on Saturday as favourites against Demerara.
Meanwhile, Demerara won the other match at GCC Bourda by 117 runs, after crawling to 163-9 in 50 overs. Hemraj Harripersaud top-scored with 29, and Romeo Deonarine made 20. Tularam Ramkaran had 3-29, while Stephon Sankar had 2-18.
In reply President’s XI were bowled out for 46 in 23.4 overs. Joshua Alves starred the show with 6-1 in six overs, while Riyad Latif took 3-4. (Brandon Corlette)
