U-19 Cricket: Demerara lads top Berbice in a low-scoring thriller

Demerara defeated Berbice by two wickets in a low-scoring thriller in the final round of the Guyana Cricket Board/Hand-in-Hand Under-19 Inter-county 50-over tournament at the La Bonne Intention ground on Sunday.

The tournament, which is a rollover from 2020, featured the three county teams playing in a single round-robin format, with Demerara emerging the only unbeaten side.

Initially, they were making a hash of the paltry chase of 73, as Berbice showed they were not going to be rolled over easily.

With the departure of Mavindra Dindyal and Alvin Mohabir, who both made 19, Berbice surged back into the contest on the low turner.

But, Byron Bowen ensured Demerara reached their target in 25.4 overs with an unbeaten 10.

The wickets were shared, with Jonathan Rampersaud taking 3-21, Nigel Deodat 2-31, Aaron Beharry 2-15 and Gourav Ramesh 1-10.

Earlier, left-arm spinner Michael Pooran took 6-10 in nine overs and received support from off-spinner Dwain Dick (3-19), as they bundled out Berbice for 72 in 25 overs.

Marvan Prashad top-scored with 26, while Seon Glasgow made 25 as no other batsman reached double figures.

At the presentation ceremony, Marking Manager of the Guyana Cricket Board, Lalta Gainda, encouraged the players to keep working hard, and for the younger players, they should keep preparing for the 2021 tournament.

While not impressed with the scores in the tournament, Gainda said the fight shown by Berbice augers well for the future of those players, who have now completed their youth cricket years.