Renee (89*), Perez (64*) put Demerara in control

Renee (89), Perez (64) put Demerara in control

Apr 19, 2016 Sports

Openers Ronaldo Renee and Raymond Perez struck contrasting half centuries to put

Ronaldo Renee straight drives.

Demerara in command when the second round of the Guyana Cricket Board/Hand-in-Hand U19 three-day inter county tournament continued yesterday at Everest.
Rain delayed the start of play until 15:00hrs, nevertheless Renee and Perez frustrated the Berbicians with mixed stroke play as Demerara closed on 179 without loss, 28 short of first innings points.
Both batsmen timed the ball well in hazy conditions and their running between the wickets was exceptional. Renee was the more aggressive- he struck off-spinner Asif Ally and Joshua Harrichand for boundaries, while Perez was content to rotate the strike. Renee continued to accumulate his runs with little hiccups and brought up his fifty off 97 balls in 126 minutes.
Perez played more aggressively as his innings progressed and reached his half century by hitting Brandon Prasad to the mid-wicket boundary; his fifty came off 122 balls in 180 minutes.
Berbice tried desperately for the breakthrough, but didn’t succeed as Renee drove Ally to the cover boundary and tickled him to fine leg for yet another four while Perez took boundaries off Ally and Joshua Wade. Renee has so far struck eleven fours to remain unbeaten on 89 while Perez hit four fours in his 64 not out.
Play continues at 09:30hrs today and Demerara skipper Travis Persaud will hope that his batsmen accelerate to give his bowlers much time for an outright victory. Berbice bowlers must improve if they are to restrict the home team. (Zaheer Mohamed)