Ram, Persaud lead Demerara to U19 Inter-County title

It was an upset for the ages at the Rose Hall, Canje Ground in Berbice on Sunday as visitors Demerara produced a composed all-round performance to whip hosts Berbice in the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Male Inter-County 50-Over final.
It seemed as though revenge was on the minds of the visitors, who had been defeated by Berbice just a few days prior in the final preliminary match of the tournament.
Demerara turned the tables after their opponents won the toss and opted to bat, going on to rout them for 134 in 44.5 overs.
Vishal Williams (20) and Nathaniel Ramsammy (13) tried to compensate for the early wicket as Razam Koobir had to depart for a duck after having his stumps shattered by Shane Prince. It was not to be as several of the Berbician batters got starts but were unable to press on.

Adrian Hetmyer ended as the hosts’ highest scorer, hitting 31 from 73 deliveries, inclusive of one six and one four. Richard Ramdeholl pitched in with 23 off 45 and Thierry Henry contributed 16, to cap off all the double-figure scores on Berbice’s scorecard.
Dhanesh Persaud ran riot over the Berbician batters, claiming 4-24 from 10 overs while Parmeshwar Ram picked up 2-11 from 5 overs.
Ram’s fine form with the ball carried over to his innings with the bat, as he slammed a brilliant half-century, punctuated by three fours and three sixes, to give Demerara a solid start to the chase. His opening partner, Kishawn Silas, unfortunately, missed out on the milestone, getting to 48 off 104 balls, in what was an 86-run opening stand for Demerara.
Emmanuel Lewis later hit an unbeaten 27 off 48 balls to lead Demerara over the line to the title. The eventual champions raced to 135-2 in 37.2 overs, with eight wickets left to spare. Feaz Baksh was the lone wicket-taker for Berbice with figures of 1-22 from 7 overs.
“It was a wonderful tournament for us. We did well, we got what we came after. We had planned to bowl first so, we get what we wanted,” Demerara Captain Dave Mohabir said about his team’s triumph following the match.
For the individual accolades, Ram was both the tournament’s best batsman, racking up 127 runs and Most Valuable Player (MVP), after adding eight wickets to his personal tally. Berbice’s Gilbert Griffith was the best bowler with 10 wickets, including a six-for. Shamar Apple and Henry shared the wicketkeeper’s prize, both pulling off six dismissals in the tournament.