Charity Primary outplay Lima Sands to clinch Essequibo Zone title in Future Warriors Tapeball

The grassroots tapestry of Guyanese cricket found its latest chapter of high drama at the Anna Regina National Stadium on Sunday, as Charity Primary clinched the Essequibo Zone title in the Future Warriors Tapeball tournament, powered by ExxonMobil Guyana.

In a clinical display of modern, short-format chase management, Charity overhauled Lima Sands Primary’s total to secure their spot in the coveted national finals.

Chasing a target of 74 after Lima Sands posted 73-3 from their eight overs, Charity Primary showcased the tactical composure that defined their tournament campaign.

Rovaldo Campbell anchor-dashed his way to an unbeaten 32, anchoring the innings with precision, while the tournament’s eventual Most Valuable Player, skipper Troy Botson, provided an essential injection of momentum with a fluent 22.

Despite tidy, solitary breakthroughs from Lima Sands’ Miguel Marcus (1-16) and Kevin Margow (1-25), Charity cruised across the line at 78- 2 with an over to spare, completing an authoritative eight-wicket victory.

Lima Sands’ earlier innings had struggled to fully break the shackles against a disciplined Charity bowling unit.

Margow (22*) and Marcus (16*) fought hard to inject late impetus into the death overs alongside an opening hand of 11 from Nameuel Watson, but Charity’s frontline options gave away nothing.

Botson led from the front with a stifling spell of 1 for 7, supplemented by Hafeez Yazidyudin (1-8) and Campbell (1-15), to keep the target within manageable territory.

While the final was a masterclass in control, the third-place play-off earlier in the day provided the tournament’s pure theatre.

In a breathtaking high-scoring heist, Mainstay Lake Primary stunned the 2025 champions, C.V. Nunes Primary.

Driven by a spectacular blitz from Anthony Garraway, who hammered a tournament-high 68 off just 20 balls—laced with eight sixes and four boundaries—C.V. Nunes appeared to have put the game out of reach with a formidable 90 for 2.

Yet, Mainstay Lake scripted a remarkable counter-narrative.

Jared Charles matched Garraway’s aerial fireworks stroke for stroke, blasting an unbeaten 59 off 26 deliveries, including eight maximums of his own, to guide his side to 91 for 2 with three balls to spare.

The final block of group matches had earlier set up the afternoon’s narratives.

In the first semi-final, Lima Sands executed a flawless chase against C.V. Nunes, tracking down a target of 69 in just 6.1 overs on the back of Watson’s 16-ball 26* and Margow’s 19*.

In contrast, Charity’s passage to the final was a standard template of defensive dominance; they restricted Mainstay Lake to a meagre 40 before strolling to 41 for 1 in 5.4 overs courtesy of Nickel Garraway (15*) and Batson (13).

The tournament’s individual charts reflected a high standard of junior talent.

Lima Sands’ Watson finished as the zone’s premier accumulator, finishing with 94 runs across four matches at an impressive average of 47.00 and a scoring rate of 174.07.

However, the definitive individual impact belonged to Charity’s skipper, Botson.

His 10 wickets across four outings came at a staggering average of 2.50 and an economy rate of 3.12, sending down 32 dot balls—equivalent to more than five overs of unscoreable deliveries.

Paired with his 70 tournament runs, his MVP accolade was a formality.

Beyond the immediate silverware and competitive fires, the tournament’s broader architecture emphasised a progressive shift toward modern development.

The top four finishing institutions were outfitted with comprehensive equipment bags, agility kits, and electronic scoring tablets.

The inclusion of digital scoring infrastructure marks an institutional push to introduce grassroots players to digital match metrics, effectively bridging the gap between recreational tapeball and data-driven talent identification.

With the Essequibo crown secured, Charity Primary now advances to the national Champion of Champions tournament scheduled for August/September.

There, they will join Berbice’s St. Therese Primary and Demerara’s West Ruimveldt Primary to contest the ultimate prize: a novelty fixture against the Caribbean Premier League’s Guyana Amazon Warriors.

The Essequibo Zone also featured spirited campaigns from Riverstown Primaary, Taymouth Manor Primary, Hampton Court Primary, Good Hope Primary, Sparta Primary, Huis T’ Dieren Primary, Onderneeming Primary, Fisher Primary, Friendship Primary, Capoey Primary and Suddie Primary.