Unbeaten WI Over-50s, USA clash for place in Friday’s final

Aug 19, 2021 Sports

Kaieteur News – After two days of action in the trilateral series, featuring hosts Canada, USA and the West Indies Over-50s, both Cricket West Indies Masters Association (CWIMA) and USA remain unbeaten. It therefore sets up a virtual semi-final clash between the two at the Danville ground in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, which was set for yesterday. The winners advance to Friday’s final, while the other two teams battle in today’s semi-final.

Shivnauth Seeram and Sunil Dhaniram photos

Vejai Seonarine.

Led by a 84-run unbeaten stand by former Guyana national players Sunil Dhaniram and Shivnauth Seeram, the West Indies Over-50s defeated Canada by seven wickets Tuesday, sending the home team to their second consecutive defeat following their loss to USA on the opening day, Monday.
The WI Over-50s were shakily placed at 24 for three in the seventh over in pursuit of a victory target of 108 after limiting their opponents to 107 all out in 44.3 overs in the 45-over affair.
Mixing defence with aggression, the pair, who also featured prominently in the Ontario Masters Softball Cricket Clubs (OMSCC) Over-50 softball tournament for Toronto Blizzards, combined effectively to blunt the Canadians attack.
The left-handed Dhaniram, who had earlier bowled nine economical overs with his left-arm unorthodox spin, conceding just 10 runs while bagging two scalps, struck eight fours in his entertaining unbeaten 50. The more subdued Seeram, who ended on 41, counted three fours in his innings.Earlier, former Guyana all-rounder Vejai Seonarine was the architect of the Canadians destruction, grabbing four for 14 in a mesmerizing 8.3 overs of off-spin bowling. Kenny Girdharry and Mohan Harihar chipped in with a wicket each for 15 and 24 runs respectively.
On Monday, in what turned out to be a low scoring nail-biting encounter, the WI Masters were bundled out for a meagre 89 off 19.1 overs of their allotted 45 overs.
Seonarine, batting at number six, led the way with 36 and came back to claim three wickets in a brilliant all-round performance. Ian Baldeo picked up three wickets for the Canada Over-45s.
In reply, the Canada Over-45s struggled throughout their innings and were bundled out for 87 in 43.5 overs, going down by a mere two runs. Mohan Harihar took three for 21 from 8.5 overs and Sunil Dhaniram, two for seven off his nine overs. Captain Zaman Amin and Seeram also chipped in with two wickets apiece.
The Canada Over-45s have been added to the tournament to facilitate four teams but only the three Over-50 teams are vying for championship honours. Friday’s final will be followed by a presentation ceremony. (Frederick Halley/Guyana Chronicle)