32 wickets in four sessions and a bit: Essequibo crush Berbice by eight wickets

By Avenash Ramzan

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A total of 32 wickets tumbled unabatedly in just over four sessions as Essequibo pulled off an emphatic eight-wicket win over Berbice in the second round of the Guyana Cricket Board’s Senior Inter-County Four-Day Championship on Friday at the Enmore Community Centre Ground, East Coast Demerara.

The victory was Essequibo’s second in as many games, having thumped the Select XI by 271 runs in the first round.

In a clash between two teams missing key players, the Essequibians were simply the better side in a game that finished just after lunch on day two.

A total of 10 players selected to play for the Guyana Harpy Eagles in the third round of the Regional Four-Day Championship from March 15 against Trinidad and Tobago Red Force had to miss the game.

They were Kevlon Anderson, Anthony Bramble, Kevin Sinclair, Veerasammy Permaul, Shamar Joseph and Nial Smith from Berbice and Kemol Savory, Keemo Paul, Ronsford Beaton and Antony Adams of Essequibo.

All-rounder Romario Shepherd, who played in the first round for Berbice, also did not play this game.

Numbers game

The fact that the highest team total of the match was 175 and Berbice failed to bat 40 overs in either innings told the tale of the match.

Of the 32 dismissals in a game dominated by the bowlers, 18 were for single-figures scores with Ronaldo Renee of Essequibo scoring a match-high 38 runs.

In fact, only four batsmen from either side managed to score 30 or beyond.

The day resumed with Essequibo 155-9 in response to Berbice first innings’ 94, and the Essequibians added 20 more runs to earn a first innings lead of 81, a massive one in the context of the match.

Left-arm spinner Nigel Deodat picked up the final wicket to end with excellent figures of 6-49.

Batting a second time, Berbice again struggled, amassing only 105 with Deodat making 30 and Seon Hetmyer 28.

Bowling for Essequibo, Garfield Phillips took 4-14, Neiland Cadogan 2-9, and Ricardo Adams, who took a five-wicket haul in the first innings, 2-60.

Set a target of 25 for victory, Essequibo lost two wickets, but completed the formalities in 9.4 overs, bringing an end to a match that the batsmen, especially those from Berbice, would want to swiftly erase from their memory.

For Essequibo, this achievement takes a permanent place in the history books, and is another reminder that the cricketers from Guyana’s largest county can no longer be considered the ‘whipping boys.’

In 2017, Essequibo won the Jaguars Franchise League Three-Day competition, a seven-round tournament featuring eight teams.

Focus now shifts to the other game in round two between Demerara and the Select XI, starting on Saturday at the GCC ground, Bourda.

The third and final round will be played from March 19.