GCB Hand-in-Hand 3-day U-19 Inter-County cricket...Adams' (6-74) & Mark Williams' (58*) keep E’bo on track for title

GCB Hand-in-Hand 3-day U-19 Inter-County cricket…Adams’ (6-74) & Mark Williams’ (58*) keep E’bo on track for title

Apr 18, 2016 Sports

By Sean Devers
On a good track at DCC spinner Akimie Adams and opening batsman Mark Williams kept Essequibo on track for this year’s Hand-in-hand Inter-County three U-19 Cricket title at the end of day one of their second round contest at the DCC ground yesterday.

Alphius Bookie cover-drives elegantly during his 58 at DCC yesterday.

Adams spun webs around the lower order of the National U-17 Select to send them crashing from a solid position of 182-4 to 244 despite 58 from Alphius Bookie, 48 from Kevin Sinclair and 35 from Joshua Persaud.
Mark Williams then stroked nine fours in a shot-filled unbeaten 56 and dominated an unfinished 72-run opening partnership with Nathan Persaud (14) to leave Essequibo needing another 172 with 10 wickets in hand for first innings lead.
The U-17s opted to bat on the small ground and fast outfield and quickly lost Bhaskar Yadram (7) at 9-1 when he edged Keemo Paul to the Keeper.
The left-handed Javid Karim (26) and Joshua Persaud revived the position with a cultured 63-run stand.
Persaud got going with a classy back foot punch of Paul and batted fluently while Karim hammered a full toss from lively National U-17 Football Goalkeeper Dwayne Thomas past mid-on for four.
The towering pacer, whose action looks suspect, played in the Region Two Digicel National Secondary schools Football Tournament for Aurora Secondary and this was only his sixth competitive cricket match.
A majestic cover drive from Persaud reached the boundary like a bullet and had class written all over it, while he swiveled and pulled off-spinner Luknauth Chinkoo, who also operated with a suspect action, to the mid-wicket boundary.
A top edged hook off a quick bouncer from 15-year-old Reyaz Khan, crashed into the sightscreen as the runs flowed freely.
Chinkoo, who strangely bowled from round the wicket, was smashed brutally for four before Persaud cut Khan delightfully behind point for four. Karim was not to be left out and hammered Chinkoo, who bowled too many ‘four balls’ past mid-off for four to post the 50 in 11.5 overs. He celebrated the land mark with consecutive boundaries.
Persaud continued to bat with authority and clobbered Chinkoo for consecutive fours before he pushed forward to a perfect arm-ball from Chinkoo and was taken at slip. Karim was run out without addition to the score when both batsmen ended up in the same crease to leave the U-17s on 72-3.
Sinclair and Bookie continued to bat positively and by Lunch the U-17s had galloped to 123-3.
After the interval, Adams broke the century stand when Bookie lofted a catch to Paul at mid-off after batting for 131 minutes and reaching the boundary 10 times and his demise at 182-5 started the Akimie Adams show.
The left-arm spinner sent back Kurt Lovell (7), Sagar Hatheramani (9) Kelvin Umroa (0) before sending back Ashmead Nedd (18) and Anthony Antonio (25) the only two other batsmen to get to double figures. Chinkoo supported Adams with 2-77.
When Essequibo began their reply, Williams played with refreshing freedom, while Persaud played an excellent supporting role and were still together when the Umpires lifted the bails with their team well placed to hunt down the target.