West Demerara Masters brush Bel Air Rubis on rain-hit day

GCB/Tropical Springs Water Over-40 T20 tournament…

– wins for Jai Hind Jaguars, West Berbice Masters

Story and photos by Brandon Corlette

The rain continues to play a major part in the ongoing Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Tropical Springs Water Over-40 T20 tournament, with only three matches possible In the second round; play was only possible at two venues – Enmore and Jai Hind. West Demerara Masters, West Berbice Masters, and Jai Hind Jaguars recorded wins in their respective matches.

West Demerara Masters v Bel Air Rubis Ultra Tec
West Demerara got the upper hand over the Bel Air Ultra Tec with a seven-wicket win in match two at Enmore Community Centre Ground. Winning the toss and batting first on a sticky wicket, Bel Air posted 78-9 in their allotted 15 overs. The rain stopped play at 14:14h with Bel Air on 34-3 in 5.4 overs.
Play resumed at 15:10h and the Bel Air boys continued, on the back of a promising contribution from Richard Ramdeen, who scored a first-round fifty and top-scored this time around with 18. Nadir Baksh, batting down the order, made 11 but that proved insufficient.
For the upbeat West Demerara Masters, who looked a well-uniformed unit, Seenarine Mathura took 2-5 while Abid Hanif claimed 2-14. In pursuit of the DLS target of 78, Masters lost the burly Elroy Fernandes, but a 41-run second-wicket partnership between Damesa Thakur (19) and Sudesh Persaud (18) took the game away from Bel Air. Master batsmen rotated the strike with ease and pressured the Bel Air fielders, ending on the victorious side with a seven-wicket win in 13.1 overs at 78-3. Arthur Duke took 2-16 in a losing effort for Bel Air.
A ball was not bowled in the opening match at Enmore owing to one team’s failure to turn up at the venue, despite the weather being cricket-friendly at that point.

Jai Hind Jaguars v Sarjoo Tigers
Jai Hind Jaguars completed a 38-run win against Sarjoo Tigers at Jai Hind, the beautiful venue located behind the Albion Police Station. Batting first, the home team scored 154-7 in their allotted 20 overs, with Suramani Mangali leading the way with 36, inclusive of two fours and one six. Kumar Sumair chipped in with 29 while Zahir Moakan scored 18.
David Pereira claimed 2-19 for Sarjoo Tigers. In response, Jaguars restricted the Tigers to 116-7 when 20 overs had elapsed. Jaguars’ collective bowling effort saw Kasim and Mangali claiming two wickets each in another polished team effort. Tagenarine Ramroop hit 39, but he lacked support from his other Tiger tea- mates.

West Berbice Masters v General Marine Masters
Led by an unbeaten 44 from Jaipaul Hiralall, West Berbice down Marine Masters by six wickets. Earlier, Marine Masters, batting first, scored 91-9 in 20 overs, with Rajban Hemraj destroying the opposition with 4-8, including three wickets in one over. In reply, Hiralall, batting at number three, hit three sixes and two fours in his unbeaten 44 to guide the West Berbice Masters to a comfortable six-wicket win, ending on 92-4 after 16 overs. Owing to the constant rainfall, no matches were played at Everest and at the Imam Bacchus Ground in Essequibo. The tournament will continue on Tuesday, November 24.