Demerara inflicted a 90-run defeat on Essequibo in a woefully one-sided second round match in the Guyana Cricket Board’s Female Inter-County T20 competition on Friday at the Malteenoes Sports Club ground.
Led by a dominant batting display by the top and middle order batters and a superb bowling performance from medium-pacer Roshanna Harper, Demerara completely annihilated Essequibo at the Thomas Lands venue.
Batting first, Demerara put up 162-4 from the allotted 20 overs and then dismissed the Essequibians for just 72 in 12.2 overs.
Demerara’s batting was built on solid partnerships, led by an opening stand of 47 between West Indies batter Mandy Mangru and young emerging talent Naomi Barkoye.
The diminutive right-hander Mangru struck a six and a four in 33 off 27, before Barkoye and Tilleya Madramootoo put on 60 for the second wicket.
Madramootoo made 24 off 27 (1×6) and Barkoye soon followed for a top score of 36 off 36 (4x4s).
Skipper Cherry-Ann Fraser and fellow West Indies player Kaysia Schultz then put the finishing touches to the innings with a quick fourth-wicket partnership of 38 in just four overs.
The left-handed Fraser made a brisk 35 off 22 (4x4s, 2x6s), while Schultz was not out on 13 off 11 (1×4).
Bowling for Essequibo, Laurene Williams took 3-32 off four overs.
Essequibo, in reply, lost half their side by the fifth over with just 17 runs on the board.
At 25-8 by the end of the seventh over, it was rapidly sliding downhill for the ‘ladies in yellow’, before the last two wickets stitched together 47 runs.
Nikesha Narine led the effort in delaying the inevitable, making 31 off 24 (3x4s, 1×6). Narine added 22 for the ninth wicket with Shonette Belgrave (6) and 25 for the last wicket with Yonette Welcome (4*).
Bowling for Demerara, Harper took 4-6 off two overs, while there was a wicket each for Fraser, Schultz, Nya Latchman and Latisha Jordon.
The competition continues on Saturday with Demerara against Berbice from 13:30h at Malteenoes.
In the opening round on Thursday, Berbice defeated Essequibo by seven wickets at the same venue.
The Inter-County competition is being used to select the Guyana team to compete in the Cricket West Indies Regional Women’s tournament, set for St. Kitts in March.
