Demerara were on brink of completing a resounding first-round win over Essequibo in the Hand-in-Hand sponsored Inter-County Under – 19 three-day tournament after the latter squandered a promising position to end day two on 155-9, with a lead of 23 runs heading into the final day at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) Ground, yesterday.
Essequibo, after limiting Demerara to 207-9 in their first innings reply where skipper Ashmead Nedd was unable to bat due to a stomach bug, coasted to 110 without loss as Orlando Jailall and skipper, Kevin Christian stitched together an impressive opening century stand.
Jailall, who was the more aggressive of the two, compiled an innings of 60, with four fours and a maximum, while Christian (49) missed out on a half-century.
The duo while at the crease, sparked intrigue as they picked up the odd boundary while running smartly between the wickets, but things took a turn for the worse for the victors after they were both dismissed by off-spinner Joel Spooner which engineered a colossal collapse as eight wickets fell for 45 runs.
Spooner, who was excellent under the dark skies, backed up his first innings five-for and ended the day with figures of 6-53 from 22 overs to once again bamboozle Essequibo’s middle order.
The young man, who turns out for the Transport Sports Club (TSC), was ably supported by his fellow off-spinner Pradesh Ballkishun who has so far taken 3-22.
Earlier, Demerara resumed the day on 162-5, with a lead of 87 runs. The men returning to the crease were national Under-15 skipper Zachary Jodah on seven and Ballkishun (11), who failed to add to his overnight score.
Jodah was only able to add 10 runs to his overnight score before being dismissed by off-spinner Amit Persaud who was Essequibo’s most impressive bowler, taking 6-69 from 31 overs.
