Half centuries from Dayanand Roopnarine (77) and Dellon Fernandes (61) who featured in a 101-runs fourth wicket partnership, enabled Solomon’s XI to score an easy five-wicket victory over Chattergoon’s XI in the final under-17 trial match at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) ground yesterday.
Responding to Chattergoon’s XI score of 193-7 from their 50 overs of which Sharmindra Hardyal top scored with a robust 39, Solomon’s XI reached 223-5 from their 50 overs on the back of half centuries by Roopnarine and Fernandes supported by Herrell Greene’s 21.
As was the case in the previous two trial matches organized by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), all of the batsmen got starts, but gave their wickets away, especially when well set for a big individual score even though the bowling was not threatening enough at times.
When Chattergoon’s XI batted, they lost their captain Harrinarine Chattergoon in the fifth over with the score reading 22-1, caught by Greene off the bowling of former national under-15 fast bowler Seon Daniels (2-27) for five.
Chattergoon who is known to be a prolific batsman has been going through a lean patch during the trials and has lost his wicket to Daniels on three occasions since the commencement of the GCB/ Clico under-17 inter-county championships which was won by Demerara.
Quincy Ovid-Richardson (28, 4×4) and Kamal Ramkissoon (14; 2×4) added 33 runs for the second wicket, with Richardson cutting a short ball outside his off stump from Essequibo’s Kevin Beaton through point for four, while Ramkissoon also cut Daniels past a diving Roopnarine at point for another boundary.
Ovid–Richardson took a liking to Beaton when he struck the bowler twice through gully and point for boundaries, before hitting him over extra cover for another in the eighth over to push the score to 35-1. The 50 was posted in the 10th over when Ovid-Richardson drove Beaton over cover for another boundary.
He lost Ramkissoon who having been given a life by wicket keeper Dexter Solomon off Beaton with the score on 55 in the 10th over, failed to capitalized on same and was caught by Dwayne Singh at mid-off when he drove to a well pitched up delivery from Daniels.
Ovid-Richardson followed soon after, when he got a top edge from Kevin Ogle and was caught by Roopnarine at backward point in the 15th over. Two overs later and it was 83-5 when Clinton Pestano (09) who drove Singh through the covers for four, was caught at the wicket off Singh and national under-15 captain Kwame Crosse was caught by Singh at backward square leg off Ogle.
Jamally Odle (31) who is the grandson of former national wicketkeeper/batsman Milton Pydanna and Arif Habib (37*) then added 32 runs for the sixth wicket from 12 overs, with Odle hitting Singh over long on for six, followed by a drive through midwicket for four.
Habib got into the action by driving fast bowler Kevin Fredericks back past him for four, but when they were well set for a bigger partnership, Odle was superbly caught by Shameer Fazal who took a tumbling overhead catch off the bowling of Joemal La Fleur in the 31st over.
Hardyal joined forces with Habib and the two set about repairing all damages with some robust hitting by Hardyal on the fast outfield in overcast conditions.
Hardyal struck Anthony Adams’ first ball over wide long on for four followed by an outside edge that went past the gloves of Solomon and down to long leg for four. He followed it up with an audacious shot off Fredericks that went onto Crown Street, before the bowler had the last laugh when Hardyal was caught by Greene on the midwicket boundary at 186-7 in the 49th over.
He faced 54 balls and struck two fours and one six during his partnership with Habib that realized 71 valuable runs for their team even as Neil Ramalho, who was unbeaten on five at the completion of the overs, struck La Fleur through midwicket for four.
Ogle and Daniels with two wickets each for 15 and 27 runs respectively from six overs each, were the principal wicket takers for Solomon’s XI, with support from La Fleur 91-16), Fredericks (1-31) and Singh 1-37.
Greene (21) and Dominique Rikhi (02) added 22 for the first wicket against some fiery fast bowling from national under-19 fast bowler Keon Joseph (0-46) and left arm swing bowler Andre Stoll (2-20) who bowled six overs each.
But Stoll initiated a double breakthrough when he had Rikhi adjudged lbw and two balls later Fazal caught at the wicket to one that pitched and left him. Roopnarine joined Greene and they shared a 61-run third wicket partnership from 11.5 overs, with Greene playing an exuberant extra cover drive off Stoll, while Roopnarine steered Joseph past the slip cordon, followed by a tickle off his hips for boundaries.
To show how confident he was, Roopnarine drove Stoll all along the ground for four before punching Hardyal back past him for four in the 17th over to push the score to 89-3. But he lost Greene who was caught by Habib at extra cover, driving at a delivery from West Indies Under-15 right arm leg spinner Amir Khan. His dismissal brought Fernandes and Roopnarine together, and after a nervous start by Fernandes, the pair set off seeing their team to victory with some confident and purposeful running in between the wickets during their partnership. In between, Fernandes drove Khan to long on for four to raise the 100 at the end of 22 overs, while Roopnarine went down the wicket to Trinson Carmichael and hit him over midwicket and wide mid on respectively for boundaries.
He also drove Khan through extra cover to move closer to the first half century of the trials and duly got it with an easy single off Khan. He had faced 94 deliveries and struck five fours and after getting there, he struck off spinner Ricardo Devers back over his head for four followed by a huge six off the two balls later.
However after posting 101 from 26.1 overs with Fernandes, Roopnarine was caught by Habib at long on off Carmichael as he attempted to hit the bowler out of the ground. Fernandes got closer to his 50, after he struck Carmichael over his head, followed by a flick to fine leg off Devers to push his score to 45 and Solomon’s XI to 182-3.
Like Roopnarine, Fernandes got his 50 when he turned his 66th delivery from Khan to a deep backward square leg, and set off for two. At that stage, Solomon’s XI were 189-4 in the 45th over but lost Fernandes who was caught by Chattergoon at short extra cover for his 61 made from 75 deliveries and decorated with seven fours, but not before the batsman had swept Khan and hit Devers for boundaries.
La Fleur (16*) who struck the last delivery of the game from Carmichael for six and Solomon (6*) steered their team past the seemingly insurmountable 194, to see them to 223-5 from their 50 overs, as the selectors decided to let the team bat out the remaining overs after attaining victory.
Carmichael ended with 2-38 to be the most successful bowler for Chattergoon’s XI who won the first game played on Tuesday by two runs, but lost the other two.
