Demerara took the upper-hand against the Select U-17 team while Essequibo and Berbice end on a state of equilibrium on the opening day of the GCB/HIH Under-19 3-Day Inter-County 2016. The start of both matchups was delayed due to heavy overnight downpours.
At the Wales Community Centre ground, play started at 13:30n hours. Demerara won the toss and opted to bowl first which turned out to be a rewarding decision as the defending champions finished in a commanding position.
The Under-17s folded for 90. Opening quicks Kelvin Shewpersaud and Renaldo Alimohamed kept hitting an excellent line and length, making scoring extremely difficult. Karim was the first to be dismissed with the score on 21. He was quickly followed by Joshua Persaud caught at cover off the leading edge for 4 with the score on 29. Yadram was the third wicket to fall for a top-score of 18. They continued to lose wickets at regular interval, eventually succumbed. The wicket-takers were Samuel Mckenzie with 2/8, Malcolm Hubbard with 2/6, Sherfane Rutherford with 2-14, and Kelvin Shewpersaud with 2-16. Demerara closed the day on 25-1 with Renaldo Renee on 23 and Sherfane Rutherford on 1.
Essequibians Keemo Paul and Sachin Persaud walking off the field at the end of the first day’s play
Over at the Enterprise Community Centre ground, play commenced at 15:00 hrs and Berbice won the toss and insert Essequibo. Nathan Persaud and Mark Williams opened the batting for Essequibo and were comfortably placed at 22/0 off 9 overs when the rainfall interupted play at 15:41 hrs. Play resumed at 16:15 hrs, with a further loss of 9 overs, leaving 27 overs to be completed for the days play.
On resumption Essequibo loss their first wicket in Mark Williams, flicking at a delivery from Sylus Tyndell which appeared to straighten, and induced a leading edge which resulted in a catch at short extra cover by Joel Seetaram. Satesh Latchana then retired hurt with the score at 35/1 off the last ball of 14 over, after seemingly suffering a leg strain during his effort to complete a single.
Amidst fading light, Essequibo slumped into a spot of bother when they lost their second wicket and one of their more experience batsman in Nathan Persaud with the score 47, caught at forward short leg by Mathew Hardial off leg arm spinner Joel Seetaram. However, Keemo Paul and Sachin Persaud were able to create a slight recovery, taking the score to 71/2 off 26.3 overs when bad light stopped play. Sachin Persaud and Keemo Paul are on 8 and 25 respectively.
Action continues tomorrow with play scheduled to start at 9:30 hrs at both venues, 30 minutes earlier in an effort to make up for some of the time lost today.
(Sean Devers photo)