GCA’s Hadi first division two-day cricket...Vishaul Singh, Sookdeo lead GCC to win over GYO

GCA’s Hadi first division two-day cricket…Vishaul Singh, Sookdeo lead GCC to win over GYO

Oct 20, 2014 Sports

Lyght’s 88 spurs Police to first innings points against Everest

By Sean Devers
On another day blessed with brilliant sunshine, centuries from Vishal Singh and Jeetendra Sookdeo spurred GCC an emphatic innings & 109-run victory against GYO at Bourda, while an attacking 88 from Andrew Lyght Jr ensured Police grabbed first innings points from Everest in their drawn encounter at Camp Road as latest action in the GCA Hadi’s first division two-day cricket competition ended over the weekend.
At Everest, the hosts resumed the day on 219-8 and were dismissed for 262 with Christopher Surat making 34 yesterday. Off-spinner Jason Heyliger had 3-63, including the prized scalp of Test batsman Shiv Chanderpaul on the opening day, while pacers Daren LaRose (2-23) and Seon Daniels (2-36) worked hard on a slow track for the Lawmen.
Police began their reply, with a strong breeze from the Atlantic Ocean blowing across the ground and by Lunch had progressed to 67-2 with Essequibian Royan Fredericks looking well set.
After the interval the left-handed Fredericks departed four short of his 50 but the pugnacious Lyght, son of the late West Indies ‘B’ team opener, the only Guyanese to score a First-Class century in Barbados and not play Test Cricket, played several thumping shots before falling for an entertaining 88 decorated with seven fours and four sixes to leave the Cops on 216-7 by Tea.
After the break, Daniels hammered a cameo unbeaten 35, while Kelvin Leitch supported down the order to give Police first innings points as they fell for 279.
Zaheer Mohamed took 4-29 with his off-spin and got support from Surat (2-49) and Shiv Chanderpaul who bowled medium pace and captured 2-46.
Everest in their second innings reached 44 without loss by the close with West Indies under-19 opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul unbeaten on 26. National opener Rajendra Chandrika was with the teenager on 18.
At Bourda, GCC on 197-2 in reply to GYO’s first innings 82, declared in the first session at 350-4. The left-handed pair of Sookdeo and the diminutive Singh extend their first day partnership to 114 before Sookdeo, who reached the boundary seven times and cleared it twice in his confident 108, departed.
Teenager Ronaldo Ali Mohamed and Singh, playing before empty stands, shared in a half-century stand before Ali Mohamed was dismissed for 34. Singh looked compact and hit 16 fours in his accomplished 122 not out, while Gavin Singh was unbeaten on 18 when the declaration was made.
Set 268 to avoid an innings defeat, GYO were bowled out for 159, their first triple figure total in four innings, to lose their second consecutive match just after Tea yesterday as their batsmen, who embarrassingly were all out for 38 against DCC in their last game, again looked out of their league.
Surendra Herilall, the 42-year-old GYO Captain, like he did in the first innings, proved to be the glue that held his team’s innings together and made use of three easy chances as he ran out of partners as wickets tumbled around him.
Fed an overdose diet of spin on a flat track, Herilall majestically stroked left-arm spinner Raj Nanan down the ground for consecutive boundaries to move into the 20s and used his experience at this level to good effect with responsible batting even as poor shot selections undermined his team’s batting once again.
Aided by ordinary fielding and sloppy catching Herilall reached to 46 with four fours, before he was eighth out at 105, smartly stumped by make shift wicketkeeper Vishaul Singh, who looked as good as most of the ‘Keepers on the first division circuit with neat glove work.
Once the solid Herilall departed GYO were in danger of losing before Tea but 19-year-old Garfield DeRoach who hammered six fours in his maiden division one fifty, played in a positive fashion and counterattacked the spinners to see GYO to 155-8 by Tea.
However, on reaching his half-century just after Tea, DeRoach was soon infected by the disease of brainless shot selection which was nearing a terminal stage.
After doing all the hard work, DeRoach threw his wicket away to give the 21 year-old Nanan his 11th victim in the game as he finished with 4-23 and match figures of 11-57. Off-spinner Gavin Singh snatched 4-21 to follow up his 3-31 in the first innings.