USACA Guyana cricket tour...East Bank last wicket pair set up thrilling win as USA U-18s end tour on losing note

USACA Guyana cricket tour…East Bank last wicket pair set up thrilling win as USA U-18s end tour on losing note

Apr 06, 2015 Sports

By Sean Devers
When Christian Husband missed an almighty swipe and was bowled by Sahil Patel at 70-9 East Bank U-18s needed 44 more for an unlikely win and USA U-18’s were already celebrating what they must have surely thought was a victory in the final match of their one-week tour to Guyana yesterday at the DCC ground.

Bhojnarine Singh turns Gauranshu Shamara (4-31) past the Keeper in his match winning last wicket stand for East Bank yesterday at DCC.

But as the over-used adage goes ‘Cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties’ and the East Bank unit, spearheaded by an unfinished 49-run last wicket partnership between Troy Domingo (19) and Bhojnarine (17), snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in an exciting encounter of fluctuating fortunes.
The USA saved their worst batting performance for their last game and Ershad Ali, bowling with a very suspect action, captured 4-16 while Daniel Barker took 3-18 as the North American teenagers catapulted from 25 without loss to 113 all out in 31.1 overs on a slow and low track in sweltering heat despite a fighting 31 from Jash Patel.
The local team seemed large and in charge in their own backyard at the half-way stage but once Paul Thomas fell for five, East Bank slumped to 90-7 as the Americans, led by crafty off-spin bowling from Gauranshu Sharma (4-31) and Sahil Patel (3-27) staged a wonderful recovery in defence of the paltry target on the small ground.
The USA team seemed well placed for a come-from behind win although Barker (18) and Sagar Hetaramani (14) posted 18 for the second wicket and Sheldon Kendell (13) got a good start before failing to build on it in the sea-saw match as East Bank eventually reached 119-9 off 36.3 overs.
The last pair joined forces and after a shaky start by Domingo, who looked incapable of surviving for long but grew in confidence the longer his innings progressed and the left-handed Singh began to frustrate the tired looking visitors, who seemed to panic once Domingo opened his shoulders with a couple of sixes and the required runs reached single digits.
After surviving some tight overs and with the scores tied and everyone trying to stop the single, Singh courageously tucked into left-arm spinner Jash Patel and dumped him for six to end the exciting contest in emphatic fashion.
Earlier, Sharma (7) and Sagar Patel (10), who again looked organised were just beginning to build a firm foundation for their team when Domingo broke the 25-run stand and nobody except Jamiel Jackman (11) and Jash Patel, who added 39 with Nandan Polisetty (8) reached double figures as the USA batsmen never came to terms with the slow track which made playing through the line and quick scoring a tedious exercise.
Meanwhile, at the Police Sports Club ground Eve Leary, Robin Williams slammed a classy century to propel the Guyana U-15 team to a commanding win over the USACA U-15s in the sixth and final round of the USACA Tour of Guyana.
The National U-15 team flattened their USA counterparts by 184 runs. Guyana batted first and posted 297-5. Williams, from the East Coast of Demerara, hammered 105 and got support from Alpheus Bookie who made 86. In reply, USA were restricted to 111 in 34.1 overs as Seon Glasgow captured 4/21.
The USA squad which brought three teams (U-13, U-15 & U-18) on their Guyana tour which concluded with a dinner last night at the Park View, East Bank Demerara Hotel, is set to depart South America today.