Lower Corentyne were crowned champions of the Jaguars 3-Day League today after they defeated West Berbice by an innings and 302 runs at the Port Mourant ground. It was the champions sixth outhright victory in seven matches.

The reigning local franchise 50-Overs champions dismissed West Berbice for 173 in their second innings even after they were made to wait a few hours more than they anticipated after overnight rain forced a delayed start to the third and final day. Devon Clements who bagged 5/47 and Veerasammy Permaul who took 4/29 were the chief destroyers. Leon Andrews did his best to keep the bowlers at bay but fell short of a well-deserved century when he was the last batman dismissed for 91. Brentnol Woolford contributed 32.

At the Enterprise ground Tevin Imlach and Ryan Shun made light work of the target of 178 as the ensured no wicket fell on their way to a well-deserved victory. Imlach was unbeaten on 93 while Shun was unbeaten on 42 when the winning run was struck.

At GCC, Upper Corentyne were dismissed for 285 after resuming on their overnight score of 248/6. Assad Fudadin went on to make 151 adding 18 runs to his overnight score. Shawn Perreira scored 21.

In Georgetown’s second innings, Eon Hooper returned figures of 6/41 to push his tournament leading wicket tally to 44 which earn him the best bowler award as the home side was dismissed for 138 chasing 294 for an outright victory. Keon Sinclair was again among the wickets following up his first innings fivefor with 3/40. Raymond Perez made 38, Shawn DeSouza 30 and Andrew Lyght Jr 23 were the principle scorers.

At Tucshen, the home team cemented their place at second in the points standing when the registered an outright victory over Essequibo. Resuming on their overnight 120/2 they were dismissed for 269 with Tagenarine Chanderpaul again top scoring with 70 which put him on top the runs with 635 runs. Kemol Savory made an even 50, his first of the competition while Travis Persaud made 31, Romario Shephard scored 29, Raymon Reifer chipped in with 21. Safraz Esau also made 25. Bowling for Essequibo, Anthony Adams took his second five wicket haul of the match as he finished with 5/68 while Kemo Paul had 3/67.

Essequibo in reply, could only score 192 chasing a mammoth 475 for victory. Kevon Boodie top scored with 55 while Anthony Adams returned with the bat to make 32 not out. Rishi Looknauth bagged 5/33 and Keshram Seyhodan took 2/2 bowling for West Demerara.
At the presentation ceremony, which was kept at Port Mourant,

Secretary of GCB, Anand Sanasie, congratulated Lower Corentyne for winning the tournament and further stated that the competition was a success as there were numerous individual and team performances. President of the GCB, Drubahadur, reiterated what the Secretary said about the success of the tournament and also congratulated all the teams who participated in the competition. Competitions Committee Chairman, Colin Europe, said he was pleased with the individual performances of the players and encouraged them to continue to work hard on their game.

The presentation ceremony concluded with trophy and prizes for individual performances; bowler with most wickets, Eon Hooper who took 44 wickets with a best bowling figure of 6/41, batsman with the most runs, Tagenarine Chanderpaul who finished with 635 runs with a top score of 187, best wicketkeeper Kemol Savory who had some spectacular catches of pacers Romario Shephard while the best all-rounder went to Raymon Reifer for his 434 runs and 38 wickets. Those players received a trophy and a cheque for $10000 each while the second place team, West Demerara, received a trophy and a cheque for $300000.00. Champions Lower Corentyne were presented with a trophy and a cheque for $500000.00.

The unprecedented professional 3-Day League format saw introduction of 100 overs per day in an effort to realistically prepare the players for national and regional duties. It certainly continues to develop much hype among players and the cricketing public. It is believed that with the positive and proactive approach to cricket development being untalented by GCB/CGI, that this professional structure will in the not too distant future realize its franchise conceptualization, with sponsors becoming franchise owner for the teams.

The statistics is a clear indication of the competitiveness of the 2016 Jaguar 3 Day League, and vibes the created among the cricketing public suggest the value and worth of the GCB/CGI Jaguars Franchise League- surely with support corporate entities cricket would continue to lead the way in professionalize sports locally.