Rose Hall Town Poonai’s Pharmacy, Port Mourant to contest final

BCB/Da Silva Motor Spares Under-13 Cricket Tournament

The Rose Hall Town Poonai’s Pharmacy Under-13 team, along with arch rivals Port Mourant Cricket Club, has advanced to the final of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB)/Da Silva Motor Spares Under-13 Cricket Tournament.

Rose Hall Town Poonai’s Pharmacy advanced after edging past Blairmont Community Centre, taking first innings points at the D’Edward Ground, while Port Mourant Cricket Club defeated Rose Hall Canje Cricket Club by nine wickets at Port Mourant Ground.
At the D’Edward Ground, Rose Hall Town Poonai’s Pharmacy batted first after winning the toss and were bowled out for 54 in 24 overs. Taindra Doobay, 13, and Tamesh Keueraj, 11, were the principal scorers.
Bowling for Blairmont Community Centre, Rawl Dindial (3-9); Romeo Deonarine (3-23) and Kahiem Ashan (2-12) were the best bowlers. Berbice Under-15 off spinner Matthew Pottaya then produced an outstanding bowling spell of seven wickets for 10 runs as Blairmont Community Centre were blown away for 42 in 24.1 overs. Romeo Deonarine was the only batsman to offer any resistance to Pottaya, who also had the distinction of claiming the first hat-trick in the tournament. With a lead of 12 runs, Rose Hall Town Poonai’s Pharmacy had reached 40 for 3 in the second innings when the game was called off by both teams. Pottaya returned with the bat to score 18. R Gafoor took 2 for 18 for Blairmont.
In the other semi-final encounter, Rose Hall Canje batted first at the Port Mourant Ground and reached 81 for 5 from their allotted 25 overs. Avishkar Persaud, 12, and Romario Ramdihal, 11, top-scored as Saleem Khan took 3 for 20.
Port Mourant Cricket Club in reply were given a solid 94-run opening partnership by Rampertab Ramnauth and Khan. Ramnauth top-scored with 55 while Khan offered solid support with 35 as Port Mourant Cricket Club ended on 119 for 3. With a deficit of 38 runs, Rose Hall Canje Cricket Club scored quickly to reach 99 for 4, with Sanjay Algoo scoring an unbeaten 50. Needing to score 52 to register an outright victory, Port Mourant Cricket Club reached 54 for 1 with Ramnauth on 35 and his younger brother Rampersaud on 11.
The final is scheduled for Saturday at the Area H Ground in Rose Hall Town. The Under-13 Tournament was contested by eight teams: Rose Hall Town Poonai’s Pharmacy, Achievers Youth, Blairmont Community Centre, Tucber Park Cricket Club, Kendall’s Union, Rose Hall Canje, Port Mourant Cricket Club and Albion Community Centre. The top two teams in the two zones advanced to the semi-finals. The Tournament would be the 21st to be successfully completed over the past four months, with several others on stream.
BCB President Hilbert Foster stated that the Da Silva Motor Spares Under-13 Tournament has unearthed several promising players. A squad of 16 players would be named after the tournament to undergo special training.