D’Edward Cricket Club recently defeated arch-rival Cotton Tree by 12 runs to lift the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB)/ West Berbice Cricket Association (WBCA)/Jaffarally T20 tournament in the Ancient County.
Playing under very strict COVID-19 guidelines at the Cotton Tree ground, the powerful visiting team maintained their winning streak against their neighbours.
The tournament was sponsored by People Progressive Party Member of Parliament, Faizal Jaffarally, who described it as a remarkable success.
“The popular politician renewed his sponsorship for this year and also announced to loud applause a fifty percent increase,” the BCB said.
The game was delayed for 30 minutes due to overnight rain. The sponsor and West Berbice Cricket Association President David Black met the two teams before the start of play.
Batting first after been sent in, D’Edward rattled up an imposing 193-8 from their allotted 20 overs.
Altaf Khan topscored with an even fifty and received support from Devindra Lalsa (26) and Kevin Jawahir (25). Bowling for the home team, Abdul Sudhan and Narsad Gaffoor took two wickets each, while Roshan Gaffoor, Waqar Hassan and Pooran Persaud took a wicket apiece.
Needing to score 194 from 20 overs to lift the trophy, the home team disappointed their fans by falling 12 runs short, despite a top score of 82 not out from former Berbice youth player Nick Ramsaroop, who struck three sixes and six boundaries.
Abdul Subhan (31) and Roshan Gaffoor (28) were the other main scorers as Cotton Tree ended on 181-4.
Akash Herilall took 2-11 from four miserly overs to claim the Man-of-the-Final prize, while Kevin Jawahir and Ricky Moore took a wicket apiece for 26 and 28 runs respectively.
BCB President Hilbert Foster stated that the sub-association can expect at least five more tournaments in 2022 as he hailed the support of Jaffarally, whom he described as a true friend of Berbice cricket.
He congratulated the winner, while urging the runner-up to work harder. MP Jaffarally noted that he is very proud of the way the game is been run in the county and pledged his support as long as Foster remains at the helm of the game in the county.
He also announced that he was able to obtain three additional sponsorship packages for cricket in the area at the Under-15, Under-23 and senior levels. These tournaments would be launched shortly, the BCB said.
The BCB over the last few months has assisted clubs with cricket balls, catching cribs, grass cutters, youth information booklets, coaching manuals, bicycles, educational materials, scorebooks among other items.
The sub-association also benefitted from a G$324,000 pitch cover. The covers played a major role in allowing the game to be played despite heavy overnight rain.
The winning team carried home G$60,000 and a bag of cricket gear.
