After 4 days of exhilarating windball action at the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue, the curtains came down on the annual Cheddi Jagan Windball Tournament which was hosted in honour of the late President and politician.
More than 15 schools competed for a chance at supremacy, but as competitions go, some were knocked out early, and only a handful of teams were able to play on the final day.
Part of the action in the annual schools tournament
As stated by Director of Sport Christopher Jones, the National Sports Commission was responsible for hosting this tournament, competition being seen as just one way to honour the work of past presidents.
“Every year, the National Sport Commission runs off this tournament to give recognition to our past President; because, as you would know, all of our past Presidents made their contribution to the development of this country; and as such, we at the NSC consider it fitting to pay tribute to them,” Jones said.
In the female category on Sunday, Annandale Secondary was the first to taste victory after posting a whopping 118-1. Dellic Chandrashelhar’s 60, and Avril Preshad’s 26 were the top scores for the East Coast team. In reply, Camille’s Institute failed to hit their target, posting just 100-2. Anessa Barker was the highest scorer, with 28.
The second game saw Queenstown Secondary romping to 90 without loss, as Keisha Rawlins, 46 and Aaliyah Peters, 38, were the sole custodians at the crease. But Covent Garden Secondary made light work of the total, replying with 95-2 for the win. Tehia Suegrim’s 38 and T Duncan’s 26 were the highest scores for Covent Garden.
Soesdyke Secondary later romped to 103-2 in their allotted overs, with Tenisha Hunte bagging a half century whilst Shenika Rodney contributed 32. On the other hand, their challengers, Vreed-en-Hoop Secondary, failed to reach their goal and could muster only 96-1. Tricia Singh, 38 and Faatimah Wilson, 36 acquired the most runs for the losing side.
Goed Fortuin Secondary were hopeful that their 83-5 would be enough to grant them a victory, as Celine Liverpool, with 32, held her team’s innings together. Indera Amardeo, with 3-25, and Shania De Freitas, with 2-23, were responsible for the excellent bowling performance on the part of Carmel Secondary. Later on, Amardeo, with 56 and Siana Abrams with 29 cruised to their target of 86 for the win.
In the male division, Goed Fortuin Secondary posted 81-2 in their allotted overs. Satesh Persaud had the only respectable figures, with 34. Enkosi Morris, with 2-26, was the one to do it with the ball for Carmel Secondary, while his teammate John Pillay, with 49, did the work with the bat to get Carmel over the line.
The second game saw Soesdyke registering 73-2, with Kobe Robertson top scoring with 28. However, it was not enough to keep Beterverwagting at bay, as they cruised to 75 without loss.
Vreed-en-Hoop became the last male team to secure a win after chasing down Queenstown’s 78-5. In reply, Ajat Khan with 20, and S Ali with 27 maintained a partnership long enough to get Vreed-en-Hoop to secure 80.
Ladies action returned later in the day with a few low-scoring encounters. Queenstown could muster only 56-1 in their allotted overs. Ashley Yard, however, put up a strong fight in the chase to get Goed Fortuin to 58-1 for the win.
Another low-scoring game saw Annandale slumping to 64-3. Shamika Edwards, with 30, was the only player to stand up to Alicia Henry’s bowling. She ended with figures of 2-0. In reply, Soesdyke breezed their way to 65-1.
The final game saw Covent Garden batting up a storm to reach a mountainous total of 106 without loss. Nikhaila Agrippa, 56, Tehira Suegrim, 38, maintained the lone partnership in the innings. Vreed-en-Hoop were unable to reach their target, slumping to 48-0.
