By Ravi Madholall
ight-arm medium-pacer Romario Shaw snared six wickets for 12 runs from his allotted three overs to spur Leguan Secondary to a comprehensive five-wicket win in the Essequibo zone nationwide 30-over competition on Friday.
It was the continuation of the 2016/2017 Guyana Cricket Board National School Cricket League tournament.
In a game which was reduced to 15 overs per side because of early morning showers, Leguan Secondary won the toss and invited Parika Salem Secondary to take first strike on a pitch with heavy moisture. The visitors only reached an inadequate 90-8 off the 15-overs, while Leguan Secondary responded with 91-5 in the penultimate over. Despite Shaw taking wickets with a great amount frequency, Baldeo Singh showed some resilience by scoring 30 runs from 49 deliveries which counted two fours.
When Leguan Secondary chased down the target, Naresh Ragubeer scored an unbeaten 31 laced with three fours while Shaquille Trim chipped in with 14. Wasim Mohamed grabbed two wickets for 13 runs from his three off-spin overs, bowling for the losing combination. Meanwhile, Teacher/Coach of Leguan Secondary School Viren Chintamani told Guyana Times Sports that the weather was terrible earlier in the day preventing a prompt start, but said the ground staff did a commendable job to ensure play was possible for the maximum 30-overs.
He also explained that his side played good cricket but the batsmen specifically needed to show better application even though they were the triumphant side. “Obviously, I satisfied with the result but I think the guys need to be more determined and batted longer; yes, it was a shortened game but we need our batsmen to be there not losing five wickets to reach 90 runs,” Chintamani commented.
With Leguan Secondary set to clash with Wakenaam Secondary soon at a venue to be announced, Chintamani expressed confidence the guys will continue to churn out more winning games and keep advancing to next round. The Essequibo District Zone winners will clash with one of Demerara two top teams shortly. The country-wide final is also set for March 3 to be played at the famous international facility, the Georgetown Cricket Club ground, Bourda.