Latest update November 8th, 2024 12:17 AM
GT&T/Hand-in-Hand inter-county cricket…Defending Champs blown away by Berbice inside 3 days
Bishoo grabs 10 wkts in match
By Sean Devers at Enmore
Superb team cricket provided Berbice with crushing 10-wicket victory over defending champions Demerara 45 minutes before Lunch on the penultimate day of their lop-sided GT&T/Hand-in-Hand four-day inter-county second round cricket match at the Enmore ground yesterday.
Devendra Bishoo
Scores: Dem: 161 & 96, Berbice 243 & 15-0
This was Berbice’s first outright win against arch rivals Demerara since the team from the Ancient County defeated the hosts at Everest in 2009 and it was one of the shortest completed games between the two sides since inter-county cricket began in 1958.
Demerara resumed the penultimate day on 68-6 and quickly slumped to 79-9 with Bishoo and Crandon, who bowled in tandem, striking in rapid succession to dismantle the Demerara tail.
It took Berbice just an hour to dismiss Demerara’s last four batsmen with another glaring Umpiring error accounting for the last wicket when Zaheer Mohamed (3) was given run out by Umpire Nandkumar Shivsankar to end the innings, leaving last man Paul Wintz unbeaten on 11.
West Indies Leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo, who took 4-24 from 23 overs to finish with 10-74 in the match and off-spinner Royston Crandon (4-28) combined to orchestrate the home team’s humiliating demise.
Berbice, set 15 to win raced to 15 without loss from 11 balls after Khan who is only behind Bishoo with 14 wickets in the competition, opened the bowling with his leg-spin.
Test opener Sewnarine Chattergoon ended the match in emphatic fashion in the next over with consecutive boundaries on either side of the wicket off Wintz. Fellow opener Surujnarine Kandasammy was not out on one.
Earlier, night watchman Amir Khan (9) was LBW to Bishoo, the leading wicket taker in the tournament with 19 scalps and Demerara were 76-7. Crandon, who made 95 in the Berbice first innings, then removed Chris Patandin (3) without addition to that score.
Demerara, with senior West Indies players Ramnaresh Sarwan, Christopher Barnwell and Leon Johnson in their side, were soon 80-9 when wicket keeper Joseph Perry (3) was LBW to Crandon before Mohamed was run out.
Berbice collected first innings points from their drawn first round encounter against the President’s X1 and will now oppose Essequibo at Everest in final round which is scheduled to commence on Sunday.
Berbice Manager Albert Smith described his team’s performance as a very good one since they managed to beat Demerara outright, something they have not achieved in years.
“Any victory over Demerara is sweet and I believe it was a very good team effort. I think the century partnership between Crandon and (Krisendat) Ramoo who batted out the entire first sessions on the second day was important in setting up the victory because the pitch here was not the best to bat on”.
Coach Hubern Evans agreed that the pitch was not ideal for batting since it began keeping low since on the first day. He was also high in praise for his bowlers, especially Bishoo.
“I have to commend the bowlers for going out there and completing the job by bowling out Demerara twice” the former Guyana First-Class batman said.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
A lesson from the bread lines of America
…Peeping Tom Kaieteur News- If the American elections of 2024 delivered any one lesson to the rest of the world, it... more
Rising Gun Crimes in the Caribbean: Urgent Action required by all
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News – There is an alarming surge in gun-related violence, particularly among younger... more
Weekend Cartoon
