Bowling performances shaped Saturday’s play in the Beharry Group of Companies U19 Schools T20 competition, as Essequibo Islands Secondary and St Stanislaus College came away with victories at the Uitvlugt Ground, West Coast Demerara.
Essequibo Islands Secondary completed a heavy 179-run win over Tuschen Secondary in the Zone Two, Region Three and Seven semi-final, while St Stanislaus College defeated New Central High by four wickets in a Zone Four South Georgetown fixture.
The matches were played after the official opening ceremony of the competition. Although the tournament began last weekend in Essequibo, Saturday’s ceremony formally opened the event, with Nicholas Fraser of the Ministry of Education’s Allied Arts Unit, GBTI’s Pernell Cummings, representatives of the Beharry Group of Companies and zone coordinator Azizi Christiani offering words of encouragement to the young cricketers.
Essequibo Islands Secondary set the tone in the first match after Tuschen Secondary won the toss and chose to bowl. Essequibo Islands made full use of their 20 overs, reaching 211-5.
Navendra Persaud led the batting effort with 52 from 57 balls before retiring hurt. His innings included five fours and one six. Aarav Sukhram added momentum with 44 from 32 balls, hitting four fours and two sixes, while Dennis Crossman made a quick unbeaten 14 from eight balls late in the innings.
Essequibo Islands also benefited from 81 extras, including 62 wides and 18 no-balls, which helped push the total beyond 200.
Marraseh Fredrics was Tuschen’s best bowler with 2-27 from four overs, while Jumol Morris took 2-29 and Daniel Ramdeo claimed 1-35.
Tuschen’s reply quickly came under pressure as Essequibo Islands struck regularly with the ball. They were bowled out for 32 in 10.3 overs, with Rick Baldinvick top-scoring with seven and Fredrics making six.
Demarcus Thomas led the attack with 3-6 from three overs, while Fayed Baksh took 3-4 from two overs. Sukhram completed a strong all-round match with 2-12, and Justin Dowlin finished with 2-4 from three balls.
In the second match, St Stanislaus College used their bowling effort to set up a successful chase against New Central High.
After winning the toss and choosing to bowl, St Stanislaus restricted New Central to 89-9 in 13.2 overs. Peter Kan was the main contributor for New Central, scoring 34 from 42 balls with six fours, while Lateef Moffat added nine.
New Central’s total was boosted by 45 extras, but regular wickets kept them from building a larger score.
Noel Nihal produced the best figures of the match, taking 4-4 from three overs. Jessie Craig also made an immediate impact, claiming 2-0 from two deliveries, while Aaron Persaud and Ishan Haricharanpicked up one wicket each.
St Stanislaus had to work for the runs in reply, but Haricharan guided the innings with an unbeaten 40 from 45 balls. His knock included three fours and helped his team recover after early wickets.
Antonio Forde made 16 from 21 balls, while Jasiah Doobay added seven. Nihal, after his four-wicket haul, returned with the bat to finish unbeaten on five as St Stanislaus reached 93-6 in 16 overs.
New Central High stayed in the contest through Brandon Brown, who took 3-20 from four overs. Christopher supported with 2-12, while Kan claimed 1-23.
However, Haricharan’s steady innings carried St Stanislaus over the line and sealed a four-wicket victory.
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