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SAME OLD STORY!
Sep 26, 2009 Sports
E’bo lose by 36 runs, defeated before lunch
By Sean Devers in Essequibo
In Association with Arabian
Hotel & Brydens & Fernandes
Twenty-one year-old former West Indies under-19 Captain Steven Jacobs grabbed his maiden 5-wicket haul at the senior 4-day level to engineer a come from-behind- 36-run win for Demerara against Essequibo at the Anna Regina ground yesterday.
Essequibo began the final day with a great chance of registering their first win against Demerara at this level in 29 years and on a working day in Region 2, the fans turned out to urge their team on.
However, it was the same old story for the Essequibians who squandered their good position and were bowled out 39 minutes before lunch for 155.
Their coach Alfred Maycock, who was a member of the 1980 team which beat Demerara and then lost the Berbice by 9 wickets in the final, would have been especially disappointed with the lack of cricketing savvy shown by his charges, especially those not exposed to 2- innings cricket.
Essequibo dominated most of the contest but faltered tactically and mentally at crucial stages, especially yesterday morning after the talented Norman Fredericks was caught at slip for 60 off the glove from a ball which bounced from Jacobs.
Scores: Demerara 119 & 278, Essequibo 203 & 155.
Essequibo resumed on 102-5 with 93 needed to win and while their track record suggested that they would be unable to go all the way, even the Ramnaresh Sarwan-led Demerara team must have been a bit nervous.
With the fans behind them and the sun out in all its brilliance, the left-handed Fredericks, 51 not out at the end of day 3 and the experienced Trevon Garraway (5*) walked to the middle to justify the decision by the Guyana Cricket Board to allow Essequibo back at this level after a one-year hiatus last year.
By the time Andrew Williams pushed forward to Jacobs and was taken at silly mid-off to end the contest, the realization that re-admitting Essequibo to the senior 4-day level without doing anything to develop 2 innings cricket in that county was ill-advised and a waste of money.
That Essequibo fought gamely in their own backyard proves there is plenty of talent but the fact that the team has been unable to win a match at this level in 3 decades should be a cause for concern for the GCB cricket development Committee. Fredericks, a former National under-19 player, looked the part in his confident half century and the delivery that got him yesterday would have removed many a better batsman.
Jacobs used his height to good effect and got the ball the bounce disconcertingly off a good length on a last-day track which also offered spin to take four of the 5 wickets to fall yesterday.
After the demise of Fredericks, leg-spinner Troy Gonsalves, who scored a debut half-century on Thursday, struck an important blow when Garraway, the only batsmen yesterday who employed the sweep shot against the spinners, mistimed a pull at a short ball and was caught at mid-on for 17 at 126-7.
National under-19 left-arm spinner Anthony Adams, surprisingly asked to bat ahead of Andrew Williams who bat high in the order in Berbice Division One cricket, showed no genuine effort to try and score and it was only a matter of time, with a cluster of fielders around the bat, before he was taken at short-leg off Jacobs for 3 at 130-8.
Wicketkeeper Lennox Andrews fell for a ‘double duck’ when he lofted the first ball he faced high into the air to leave Jacobs, who has 9 wickets from 8 First-Class games, on a hat-trick.
Williams and last man Trevor Benn, resisted well and showed the benefits of being exposed to 2-day cricket in Berbice and Demerara respectively with a fighting 25-run partnership to keep the Essequibo hopes alive.
Benn hit a massive six in his unbeaten 13 before Jacobs got rid of Williams to give Demerara full points and an early lead in the 4-team competition.
The two teams now clash from 09:30hrs on Wednesday at Anna Regina in the opening round of the El’Dorado 50-over competition.
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