U-19 trial match
National Under-19 players in all rounder Jonathan Foo and fast bowlers Keon Joseph and Keyron Fraser stole the spotlight at the end of the first day of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Under-19 three-day trial match at the Police Sports Club ground, Eve Leary yesterday.
Asked to take first strike on an unusually low wicket, Anthony Bramble’s XI were bowled out for 252, 30 minutes before the scheduled close of play, despite Foo and Joseph, the latter known more for his bowling, each scoring 59 against the bowling of Fraser who took 4-34 and Seon Daniels 3-49.
In reply, Royston Alkins’ XI were 29 without loss with Essequibo’s Herrell Greene and Eon Hooper unbeaten on 14 and 10 respectively against the bowling of Joseph and Andre Stoll, who claimed 2-20 when Bramble’s XI batted.
Earlier, both Stoll who is an original member of Bramble’s XI and Daniels rocked the batting of the opposition to leave them on 90-4, after they were 89-2 at lunch with Quincy Richardson (25) who struck Daniels twice through point for four and Ryan Rajmangal (11) being the pre-lunch break victims.
After lunch, Daniels removed Manoj Pooranauth (14) and Navin Singh (24) and should have had Foo caught at first slip by Seon Hetmyer before he had scored and again by skipper Royston Alkins two deliveries later at second slip when the batsman was on 4.
Foo who arrived at the wicket with his team on 90-4, made the opposition pay for their blunders by hitting Fraser through point for four and after surviving a series of short-pitched deliveries from Daniels, he swivelled and pulled another short delivery through midwicket for four with disdain, posting his team’s 100 in the 40th over.
It was a vintage Foo who was recently named the Man-of-the-Series in the just-concluded GCB/GTM Under-19 Inter-county tournament, from that point as he tore into the Alkins XI bowling, hitting West Indies Under-15 spinner Amir Khan for successive boundaries in one over.
He reached his 50 from 54 deliveries with nine fours and two sixes back over the head and out of the ground off Khan, before he saw the demise of his partner Alex Amsterdam (05) who was adjudged lbw to Fraser.
Skipper Anthony Bramble (05), Foo and Stoll (00) were all dismissed by Fraser who triggered the collapse which brought his team back into the game, with the remarkable figures of 4-15 from six overs at tea which saw Bramble’s XI on 194-8 with Joseph on 22 and Sahadeo Somai 11.
Joseph cut, pulled and drove with authority over a bowling attack that looked as if they were waiting for something to happen instead of making it happen.
Floyd Henry was struck through point and extra cover for four, while Khan was hit out of the ground by Joseph who followed it up with a neatly timed drive through extra cover off Daniels and after tea he continued in the same vein when he backed away and cut Khan through extra cover to push the score to 219-8.
Somai showed he has the ability to cut too when he played a delicate cut shot off Fraser that sped through point on the heavy outfield for four, before he was needlessly run out for 24 when he failed to beat a return to wicketkeeper Dexter Solomon going for a second run on a misfield.
The 17-year-old Joseph then raised his 50 from 72 balls with his ninth four struck through mid off, his second in the over off Alkins and counted one six amongst his boundaries before he was the last man to be dismissed, bowled off his pads by Daniels.
