Looknauth’s century fails to save MMZ as Perez takes Everest ACS over the line

The action got off to a bang on Sunday in the NYNCL 30-over competition as talented Guyanese all-rounder Richie Looknauth registered a fighting century only to see his team suffer defeat thanks to an aggressive 91 from his fellow Guyanese Raymond Perez.
MMZ CC won the toss and decided to send Everest ACS in to bat, as the match got off to a rather unfortunate start. At the toss, MMZ skipper Kelvin Shewprasad submitted his list of players only to make mention of one player twice. After much debate, the umpire declared that MMZ would, therefore, have to play with 10 players, leaving out the talented Andy Mohammed.

Openers Perez and Freddy Pestano then took to the crease and smashed the ball to all parts of the ground. They were able to register a healthy 96-run partnership before Pestano fell for 38, nevertheless, Perez continued to play his natural game. Marvan Prashad (19) and Andrew Davis (31) were the next two wickets to fall as the 10-man MMZ showed much fight. However, Perez was still at the crease and despite a couple of wickets tumbling, he continued to pick the gaps with ease and precision. Eventually, Perez was dismissed for a well-played 91 off 67 deliveries, his innings including 11 boundaries and four maximums. With the tone already set by Perez, Marinaro Dixon (40) and Chatram Balgobin (53) propelled their team to 288-5 in their allotment of 30 overs. Ansar Yasmin bagged 2-46, while Richie Looknauth, Shewprashad, and Keith Eddie bagged one wicket each.

Heading into the chase, MMZ needed 289 for victory off 180 balls, a task that seemed like a mountain. But despite the absence of Andy Mohammed, they had Guyana’s very own Ronaldo Renee, Ushardeva Balgobin and Looknauth, a trio who could decimate any bowling attack once they got going. But the tide would turn in a different direction as the Everest bowlers sent back Renee (0) and Balgobin (2) to the pavilion. To make matters worse, they had MMZ reeling at 21-3 inside the first five overs. In came Looknauth to the rescue, his 101 came off 67 balls, inclusive of nine boundaries and six maximums. His innings frustrated his opponents, as at one point, he looked as though he would singlehandedly take the game away from Everest. But when Looknauth fell, no other player could contribute anything and eventually MMZ were restricted to 238-8 in their 30 overs, Andre Stroll was the leading bowler with 3-42 as MMZ lost by 50 runs.