RHTY&SC Naeem Nasir Memorial Cricket Tournament: History created as Berbice River team win tournament

The Area H Ground was filled to capacity as history was created on Sunday as the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club, MS hosted the 10th edition of the Naeem Nasir annual Memorial Tournament.
The day’s event involved seven teams – Rose Hall Town Bakewell, Rose Hall Town Tigers, Courtland, Police, Number 72 Cut and Load, Skeldon, and Berbice River. Berbice River emerged as the champions of the tournament after defeating a youthful Rose Hall Town Bakewell team by 11 runs in front of a large and noisy crowd. It was the first time that a Berbice River team had won a county-wide tournament.

Batting first, Berbice River rattled up 50 for 5 wickets after the final was reduced to five overs per side owing to time constraints. Man of the Final Gavaskar Chapel led the way with a brisk 29, with two boundaries and a six while Derek Leacock chipped in with 16 (1×6, 1×4). Bowling for Rose Hall Town Bakewell, 17-year-old Raj Tika took 2 for 9 and Troy Mathieson, 2 for 16 (2 overs). Needing to score 51 runs from their five overs, Rose Hall Town Bakewell were restricted to 39 for 3, with Jonathan Rampersaud top-scoring with 14 while Matthew Pottaya scored 13 before he was run out. Joshua Leacock took 2 wickets for 9 runs while D Leacock claimed one for 12.
Earlier in the day, the Berbice River team had drew the bye in the opening round. Police crushed Skeldon by 50 runs after amassing 121 without loss in just six overs with K Amsterdam scoring 69 not out and Philburg Wilburg 43 not out. Rose Hall Town Bakewell, spearheaded by a brilliant all-round performance by Jonathan Rampersaud, defeated Number 72 Cut and Load by nine wickets, while a brutal innings of 35 not out by former national player Dilbert Hicks led Rose Hall Tigers to a nine-wicket victory over a hopeless Courtland.

In the semi-finals, Berbice River got past Police by eight wickets after restricting the lawmen to 61 runs in their allotted six overs. They achieved victory with 1.2 overs remaining while Rose Hall Town Bakewell defeated their counterparts Rose Hall Town Tigers by 13 runs. Skipper Rampersaud scored 25 not out as Rose Hall Bakewell reached 69 for 2 from their six overs. Tigers were then restricted to 56 for 5 as their main batsman Dilbert Hicks was bowled by off-spinner Mathison for a two-ball duck. Under-17 bowlers Tika and Romesh Bharrat took 2 wickets for 13 and 5 runs respectively.
Gavaskar Chapel was named Man of the Final for his crucial innings of 29 while Jonathan Rampersaud copped the best bowler and best batsman accolades. The champions took home $100,000 while the runners-up got $50,000.
RHTYSC Secretary/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Hilbert Foster, who is also the Berbice Cricket Board President, hailed the one-day tournament as a huge success. He stated that the club was pleased to honour the memory of Naeem Nasir, the founder of Bakewell. Nasir was a passionate sponsor of sports, especially cricket and lawn tennis, and his company has sponsored the RHTY&SC since 2000. The Secretary stated that Bakewell and Nasir were one of the main reasons why the RHTY&SC was now a respected household name. Bakewell General Manager Rajin Ganga stated that his company was proud to be associated with the RHTY&SC owing to the club’s record of achievements. He added the tournament was a fitting tribute to the Bakewell founder and hailed the outstanding leadership of Foster at the club over the years. Ganga reassured the gathering the Bakewell would continue to sponsor the tournament in the future and also the activities of the RHTY&SC.