Chase Academy led by Dwayne Dick’s mesmerising spell of bowling trounced Charlestown Secondary by 10 wickets while Legaun Secondary, Annandale Secondary and Skeldon Line Path Secondary also recorded comfortable victories against Parika Salem Secondary, Hope Secondary and Tagore Memorial Secondary respectively as the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) National Secondary School Cricket League (NSSCL) sponsored by Banks DIH Ltd’s Coco Cola and Rainforest Water along with Digicel continued across the country.
At Everest, Chase Academy blew away Charlestown Secondary behind Dwayne Dick’s superb figures of 6/8 off 6 enthralling overs. Batting first, Charlestown Secondary made a paltry 52 in 16.5 overs.
Chase Academy, who needed to get 53 for victory in as little overs as possible to help boost their net run rate, did so by rocketing to 55 in just 5.5 overs behind West Indies Under-15 selectee Joshua Persaud’s swashbuckling 44 not out which came off only 16 balls.
This margin of victory helped Chase Academy to finish with a net run rate of -0.338 which was enough to top the three-team Georgetown Zone after they along with St Joseph’s High and Charlestown Secondary all finished with one win and one lost after two games each. St Joseph’s High finished second with a net run rate of -0.856 while Charlestown Secondary was third with a net run rate of -1.581. This means that Chase Academy would now progress to the next stage of the competition.
Over at Parika, Leguan Secondary eased past Parika Salem Secondary by seven wickets. Parika Salem Secondary was asked to take first strike but could only put up 83 runs on the board before they were dismissed in the 17th over. The only batsman to offer any resistance was Wazim Mohamed who made 25 out of the total of 83. Bowling for Leguan Secondary, Junior Bezindre claimed 4/13, Mark Rankin had 3/17 and Malcolm Caesars took 2/14.
In reply, Leguan Secondary got to their target in 14.1 overs while only losing 4 wickets in the process. Mark Rankin made 27 not out. Bowling for Parika Salem Secondary, Wazim Mohamed had 3/19.
At Enterprise, Annandale Secondary got the better of Hope Secondary by five wickets in their Inter-Zone clash. Batting first, Hope Secondary, who is the Mahaica Zone champions, was bowled out for 101 in 25.3 overs. Denzil Wilson made 22 not out. Bowling for Annandale Secondary, Tyrese Assanah bagged 4/21, Chandrapaul Ramraj had 3/14 and Ayube Sammy took 2/24.
Annandale Secondary in reply finished on 102/5 in 18 overs. Saif Samaroo hit 24 and Mike Persaud made 20. Bowling for Hope Secondary, Gopaul Applesammy took 3/32.
Meanwhile, at Skeldon Community Centre ground, Skeldon Line Path Secondary defeated Tagore Memorial Secondary by 41 runs. Batting first after winning the toss, Skeldon Line Path Secondary made 158 all out off 26.3 overs. Alex Burnette top scored with 24. Bowling for Tagore Memorial Secondary, Mukesh Shivpersaud had 4/44 while Alex February claimed 3-14 and Andy Rohoman took 2/24.
Tagore Memorial Secondary in reply fell short of their target managing only 117 all out in 26 overs. Alex February was again among the runs as he made 46. Bowling for Skeldon Line Path Secondary, Afseer Hussain was the pick of the bowlers with 3/21 while Navin Chatterpaul took 3/27.