By Akeem Greene
Captain, batsman and bowler were the duties of Kevin Sinclair and he aced them all to lead Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHYT&SC) to the Let’s Bet Sports 100 Balls Second-Division Zone title on Sunday at Albion Sports Complex.
The 20-year-old senior national player scored 82 from 47 balls and then took 1-18 from three overs, which was deemed the Man-of-the-Match performance in the Lower Corentyne Zone final.
Rose Hall Town joined Dookstown (Upper Corentyne), Rose Hall Canje (New Amsterdam/Canje) and D’Edward (West Berbice) as the zone winners.
They will now play for a spot in the final, which should be staged in three weeks at Number 69 ground, Upper Corentyne.
Rose Hall took first strike and piled on 145-6. In response, Albion could only muster 110-7, losing by 35 runs. Sinclair, opening the batting, ended unbeaten after hitting eight fours and two massive sixes.
He played a major hand in taking 17 runs off the fourth over delivered by promising spinner Kelvin Umroa.
The budding star and Junior Sinclair added 83 for the first wicket in 11 overs. Junior made 29 (3x4s) from 25 balls; it was the only other substantial score.
Given the Sinclairs were the main contributors, Albion would look back and rue when they dropped Kevin on 66.
Captain Sharaz Ramcharran took 3-16 from his 3.2 overs of off-spin, while Joshua Harrichand had 1-24 and Karan Arjpaul had 1-19.
Albion’s chase got off a solid start when Ritesh Umroa played a cracking pull through mid-wicket off the steamy Sylus Tyndall in the first over.
Ritesh played some crisp shots, but was bowled going for a drive off Kevin Sinclair; he made 18 (3x4s). Adrian Sukhwa proved the threat to Rose Hall with a well-composed 46 (2x4s; 3x6s) from 32 balls.
Sharp fielding and constant bowling changes, which resulted in the loss of wickets, had the run rate spiralling out of the reach for the hosts.
There were tense moments in the end which brought the few Albion supporters to life, but Rose Hall found a way to quiet them and walk away the happiest.
Mahendra Poornauth chipped in with 16 and Ramesh Kasinauth made 11. Ravi Narine had 2-12, while Tyndall and Junior had a wicket a piece.
Prior to play there were raised eyebrows over Kevin Sinclair playing the Second-Division match since he made his List A debut last year and then a First-Class debut this year.
However, a representative from the Berbice Cricket Board explained Sinclair had started to play the tournament prior to playing to senior Regional Cricket and after the finals he will be debarred from Second-Division tournaments in Berbice, as is the norm.
For the standout performer, he related to News Room Sport, it was just a great feeling to be back in the middle playing cricket in his home county. He felt the innings was a good way to rebuild confidence after a lean run in his last First-Class match.
Guyana Jaguars face Jamaica Scorpions from Thursday at the National Stadium, Providence, and according to the all-rounder, he hopes to play and make the most of the opportunity.
