In a weekend packed with action, Zeeburg Sports Club defeated the All Youths ‘B’ Sports Club by eight wickets at the Zeeburg Cricket Ground in the West Demerara Cricket Association’s (WDCA’s) Beacons 50-Over competition.
All Youths emerged victors at the spin of the toss, and opted to bat first on a hard and flat wicket, with sunny conditions also favouring the team batting first.
In the past, Zeeburg have batted first on their home ground and have gone on to win convincingly; but being strategic, All Youths chose to bat first, because they knew if they were able to set a mammoth total, they stood a chance at defeating Zeeburg.
Jamal Gomes and Yutesh Dhanpaul had standout performances which helped Zeeburg across the line
Regrettably, All Youths were in trouble from the get-go, as they lost key wickets up front and were not able to utilise ‘the power play’ whilst medium pacer Jamal Gomes was extracting swing and bounce from the track.
Gomes, with support from off-spinner Yutesh Dhanpaul and left-arm spinner Ricardo Adams, restricted the All Youths’ performance, and brought them to the verge of being bowled out within 20 overs. They, however, managed to last until the 23rd over, but could accumulate only 97 runs, with Ahamid Hannif (17) and Mark Prahalall (20) being the only two batsmen to reach double figures.
Bowling for Zeeburg, Jamal Gomes had 3-29, Yutesh Dhanpaul claimed 3-21, and left-arm spinner Ricardo Adams bagged 2-36.
Needing a meagre 98 for victory, Zeeburg went about the chase in their typically aggressive manner, smashing the ball to every part of the ground to end their innings on 98-2 in 8.2 overs.
Top scoring for Zeeburg were Dhanpaul (48) and Ronaldo Renee, who was unbeaten on 31. No All Youths bowler was able to contribute any significant figure.
