Latest update February 4th, 2025 9:06 AM
Foo blasts Berbice to GTM One-Day U-19 title
Defending champs hammer Demerara by six wickets
By Sean Devers
National youth all-rounder Jonathan Foo continued to dominate this year’s GTM under-19 Inter-County cricket series by blasting a pugnacious 56 yesterday at the DCC ground in the deciding final round match of the One-Day tournament.
GCB head Chetram Singh (left) and GTM’s Edward Persico (right) with the victorious Berbice cricket team after they retained the GTM One-Day U-19 Inter-County title at DCC yesterday.
His belligerent 60-ball half-century, spearheaded defending champions Berbice to a six-wicket victory against Demerara to give them the coveted title.
Berbice, chasing Demerara’s 121-9 in 50 overs, galloped to 122-4 off 30 overs, after the 18-year-old Foo, who was later named Man-of-the-Match, suddenly changed gear and clobbered Skipper Rajendra Naikbarran for 22 in his only over after the new ball pair of Seon Daniels and Andre Stoll had kept the shackles on the batsmen.
On a slow track which made playing through the line a difficult task, Demerara batsmen struggled to get the ball away on the small ground after opener Quincy Ovid-Richardson, who smashed five fours in his 25-ball 22, was bowled by national youth pacer Keon Joseph at 37-2.
With Guyana under-19 opener Trevon Griffith (who was run out for six at 15-1) out of the way, the run rate dipped dramatically before a vicious late order rally from the left-handed Stoll, who hit four sixes and three fours in an explosive 33-ball to 44 give the total some respectability.
Tedious batting in the middle order put the hosts, who like Berbice, beat Essequibo in their first match, in a deep hole as Dexter Solomon laboured for 34 balls and 50 minutes in his duck. Guyana under-19 pacer Keyron Fraser ended his misery by knocking out his stumps. Solomon’s talented but inconsistent national under-17 colleague Delon Fernandes also made a duck when he was bowled by pacer Terrence Madramootoo.
Carl Rambarose and Daniels, who was left out of the team for the opening one-day game last Thursday, were the only batsmen apart from Ovid-Richardson and Stoll to reach double figures. They both made 11.
Joseph had 2-25 and Madramootoo 2-15 for Berbice who quickly slipped to 24-3 in their reply.
Eon Hooper (5) was caught behind off Stoll at 13-1 while Manoj Pooranauth, who was removed by Stoll for two and Raffel Estriado (11) who was leg before to Daniels, fell in the space of a run as Berbice wobbled in sultry conditions.
The usually aggressive Foo and fellow Guyana under-19 player Seon Hetmyer joined forces and were never allowed to score freely.
The 50 was posted in 20 overs and a pulsating climax to the contest was anticipated as the Berbicians limped along at a snail’s pace.
However, once Naikbarran, who took five wickets opening the bowling with his non-turning off-breaks in the first match, introduced himself into the attack, Foo pounced on him like a predator. He deposited him for two massive straight sixes and two fours, including an exquisite back foot punch through extra cover, in an expensive over that turned the momentum of the match away from Demerara.
Growing in confidence, Foo, who has two years of regional under-19 experience under his belt, stroked Daniels majestically to the wide long-on boundary in the next over before impetuosity, not for the first time in his career cost him his wicket at 91-4.
The tall right-hander, after hitting seven fours and three sixes and seeing his team’s second 50 posted in just five overs, picked out the only man in the deep and was caught at long-off by Daniels.
But by then his job had already been done and Hetmyer showed glimpses of why he is regarded as Guyana’s most accomplished teenage batsmen with some elegant on-drives; using his feet to the spinners.
He remained unbeaten on 17 at the end and had with him Alex Amsterdam (11*) as Berbice won with 20 overs to spare. Daniels and Stoll, with another year each at this level, finished with 2-34 and 2-18 respectively.
Naikbarran was adjudged the Most Valuable Player in the One-Day tournament and also took the award for the bowler with the best bowling figures while Hooper took the award for the batsman with the highest total.
Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) President Chetram Singh congratulated Berbice while he expressed disappointment with the standard of batting in the competition. The GCB head since 1991, told the gathering at the presentation ceremony that GTM has been sponsoring under-19 Inter-County cricket for the past 31 years and has been a major contributing factor in the development of Guyana’s under-19 cricket.
“We (GCB) have a wonderful marriage with GTM and Clyde Butts and Neil McGarrll are the only two Guyanese to play Test cricket since regional youth cricket began not to have played at the youth level for Guyana,” Singh said.
The GCB head also disclosed that at the completion of the final round three-day GTM match from tomorrow at the Stadium, a 26-man squad will be selected to play in three three-day trial matches once the weather permits.
This forms part of the preparation for this year’s regional under-19 competition slated for Jamaica from the second week in July.
GTM’s Edward Persico said the GTM Group is pleased to partner with the GCB to provide the under-19 players the opportunity to showcase their talent at this level and committed the Insurance Company to continued sponsorship of the competition.
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