Double success for Berbice in U-19 Inter-county

By Avenash Ramzan

Berbice completed the coveted double on Friday afternoon, winning the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB)/Hand-in-Hand Mutual Fire and Life Insurance Companies’ Inter-county Under-19 50-over title, by defeating the Select Under-17s by four wickets at the National Stadium, Providence.

The Kevin Sinclair-led side also won the Three-day competition last month.

Batting first in a match reduced to 48 overs due to a late start, the Select Under-17s managed 133 all out in 42.5 overs. Seon Glasgow made 51, inclusive of eight fours and a six, while Andre Seepersaud made 46.

Bowling for Berbice, eventual Man-of-the-Match Keith Simpson took 4-33, while Kevlon Anderson bagged 2-19.

Berbice had a few hiccups along the way, losing six wickets during the chase, sealing the win at 137-6 in 37.2 overs.

Javed Karim topscored with 38, while Kevin Sinclair made 28. Bowling for the Select Under-17s, Nigel Deodat picked up 3-23.

While Berbice received two massive trophies for their dominance of the tournament, one of their key players Kevlon Anderson was named Most Valuable Player. Widely considered as one of the brightest young prospects in Guyana, Anderson racked up 239 runs and picked up 14 wickets.

In the Three-day competition, Demerara pair Bhaskar Yadram and Ashmead Nedd emerged as the top runscorer and wicket-taker respectively.

Yadram, who scored the first-ever triple hundred in Inter-county youth cricket against the Select Under-17s at Everest, amassed 366 runs, while left-arm spinner Nedd had 22 wickets.

Alex Algoo of Berbice had 301 runs, while Kelvin Umroa and Keith Simpson captured 22 and 21 wickets respectively. Junior Sinclair of Berbice had the most dismissals by a wicketkeeper, 15.

Speaking on behalf of Hand-in-Hand Mutual Fire and Life Insurance Companies, Marketing Coordinator Shafeena Juman, congratulated the Berbicians on the double win.

“It (the victory) is well deserved. We as a sponsor have been monitoring the games diligently and I must say that we are impressed by the performances we’ve seen. I hope the relevant authorities are taking notes about these talented young men we have in cricket. We are also pleased with the work and the well organised competition by the GCB and we at Hand-In-Hand will continue to support sports in our communities and Guyana as a whole,” Juman said.