An excellent display of fast bowling by national pacer Raun Johnson helped to propel Lower Corentyne/New Amsterdam/Canje to an easy nine-wicket victory over East Bank/Upper Demerara, while Jeetendra Sukdeo’s all-round effort helped Georgetown overcome Essequibo.
An Essequibo batsman on the attack
There were also wins for East Coast Demerara and Upper Corentyne as the Cricket Guyana Inc Local Franchise League (LFL) continued in matches across Guyana.
Playing at Farm Ground, East Bank Demerara, the home team were asked to take first strike after Lower Corentyne/New Amsterdam/Canje won the toss. They found the going tough as they could only post 92 all out in 20 overs. Danny Narine was the only batsman to offer much resistance, top scoring with 29. Bowling for the visitors, Johnson was brilliant, claiming 5-29 off four overs, while former national Under-19 Captain Eugene La Fleur supported well with 2-14 off 6.5 overs.
In reply, Lower Corentyne/New Amsterdam/Canje raced to 93-1 in just 13 overs, with LaFleur returning with the bat to score 45 not out including 6 fours. Wyheid Edwards was the other not-out batsman on 29.
At Enmore Ground, East Coast Demerara defeated West Berbice by 16 runs in a low-scoring affair. Batting first after losing the toss, the home team limped to 95 all out in 49.5 overs as Krishnadat Ramoo and Waqar Hassan bowled tight spells, claiming 3-18 and 3-16 respectively.
West Berbice, in reply, could only manage 79 all out in 32 overs. The pick of the bowlers for East Coast Demerara was Steven Sankar who claimed 4-22 off his 10 overs, while Vivian Albert and national pacer Paul Wintz had 2-20 and 2-23 respectively.
At Bourda, Georgetown beat Essequibo by 72 runs. Georgetown scored 174 all out in 48.4 overs after they won the toss and chose to bat. Sukdeo topscored with an impressive 70, stroking four elegant fours and one six. He was well-supported by Andre Stoll, who hit 25, and Andrew Lyte who hit 24. Bowling for Essequibo, Heimchan Persaud took 3-34 off 10 overs; Anthony Adams, 2-30 off 10 overs; Rayon Fredericks, 2-33 off 9.4 overs and Ricardo Adams, 2-35 off 10 overs.
In reply, Essequibo were dismissed for 102 all out in 36.1 overs. Ricardo Adams topscored with 20. Bowling for Georgetown, Sukdeo completed an excellent all-round game by claiming 4-10 off seven overs, while Devon Lord had 2-16.
Over at Wales Ground, Upper Corentyne defeated West Demerara by 29 runs after they posted 227-9 in their allotted overs. Rajiv Ivan topscored with 50 as he struck 3 fours and 2 sixes. Lloyden Lewis (28); Jason Sinclair (27) and Jonathan Foo (26) were the other major contributors. Bowling for West Demerara, Malcolm Hubbard had 4-36 off 10 impressive overs, while Ritchie Looknauth supported well with 2-35 off his 10 overs.
In reply, West Demerara fell short of their target by 29 runs despite a top score of 73 by Renaldo Renee. He struck 6 fours and 1 six. Chandrika Persaud was the other main contributor with 35. Bowling for Upper Corentyne, Clinton Pestano claimed 3-50 off 9.2 overs and Eon Hooper took 2-28 off 10 overs.
Matches continue today, with Essequibo taking on Upper Corentyne at Enmore, West Berbice playing East Bank/Upper Demerara at Port Mourant, East Coast Demerara tackle Lower Corentyne/New Amsterdam/Canje at Albion and West Demerara face Georgetown at GCC, Bourda.
(Taken from Guyana Times)