Buxton ‘Carl Hooper’ Cricket Club recently defeated Lusignan East Sports Club in the East Coast Cricket Board (ECCB)/Trophy Stall Under-19 competition at the Buxton Community Centre. Winning the toss in bright sunshine with a large crowd on hand, Lusignan Sports Club elected to bat.
It quickly became apparent that they misread the pitch, which was very encouraging to fast bowlers. The Buxton pacers Ganesh Surujpaul and Nando immediately went on a rampage. Nando’s aggressive and hostile bowling had the visitor reeling in the fourth over at 19-4.
T. Lall, T. Persaud and E. Persaud were removed without scoring. This trend continued and Lusignan were bowled out for 88 in the 23rd over. The only batters to reach double figures were Sukhdeo 12, K. Jailal 11, and V. Jailal 10.
The impressive Nando finished with figures of 7-14. Buxton was made to work very hard as the home crowd were seriously concerned with the steady fall of wickets. The score was 60-7 when Nando arrived at the crease.
And in a no-nonsense mood clobbered a mighty six and two stylish fours to help his team to 90-8 in the 14th over. Bowling for Lusignan, A. Sammy had 2-33 and V. Jailal 2-10.
At the presentation ceremony, Nando received the Player-of-the-Match trophy. Vice-President of the ECCB and Chairman of the Competitions Committee, Raymond Barton, congratulated the Buxtonions for their well-deserved victory, observing that they played well throughout the competition.
He also thanked the clubs and groundstaff throughout the East Coast for their cooperation and contributions, which aided in the successful execution of the tournament. Representing the National Sports Commission (NSC), Daniel Richmond, presented the NSC trophy to Nando for scoring the most runs in the final.
President of the ECCB, Bissoondyal Singh, congratulated both teams for reaching the final, noting that the competition was extremely competitive with the numerous talented teams. He also expressed his sincere gratitude to Ramesh Sunich of Trophy Stall for sponsoring the tournament for the fifth consecutive year.
As it relates to cricket and youth development, the President explained that the ECCB has put together a packed programme for 2017 and there are two overseas sponsors, who will be working closely with the ECCB to engage the entire East Coast of Demerara.
“There will also be the employment of several full time coaches and the East Coast will be divided into four sections as we seek to capture every village,” Singh said. He urged the young cricketers to continue to work hard and become role models, and most importantly stay away from illicit drugs and alcohol.
