Extras and some resilient tail-end batting by Reaz Latif shepherded the Demerara U-15 side to a last-over one-wicket win in a low-scoring encounter over Berbice at the DCC Ground yesterday in the third and final round of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) U-15 Inter-County 50-Over tournament.
The win meant that the Demerara team went undefeated throughout the tournament to lift the title, while Berbice was left heartbroken despite showing heart.
Berbice skipper Adrian Hetmyer won the toss and elected to bat, and much like their previous innings with the bat, the Berbicians failed to get off to a good start with wickets falling regularly. Hetmyer, who made a fighting half-century, only received support from Richard Ramdeholl (28) and Sohail Mohamed (15), while runouts (four in total) were plentiful, giving the Demerara lads easy dismissals.
brilliant performance with bat and ball
When opener Chamesh Seenauth was run out for a duck, Berbice lost three more quick wickets, and it required Hetmyer and Ramdeholl to take them from 48/4 to 108. By the time Hetmyer was caught behind off the bowling of Reaz Latif for a well-played 53 (60 balls, 4sx2, 6sx3) in the 33rd over, the damage had already been done. The last five wickets could only combine to make an additional 41 runs, as the Berbicians were bowled out for 146 in 41.1 overs.
Brandon Henry was the main man, with the ball taking 4/34 (7 overs), while Darwin La Rose, Parmeshwar Ram, and Latif took a wicket apiece.
In response, openers Ram and Khush Seegobin gave their sides a good foundation as usual, but when the latter fell, the stability of partnerships went out of the window. 32/1 became 65/2, then 75/3, and 76/4. Ram made 32, with Shamar Apple the only other batsman to chip in with a valuable 22. Latif, who came in at number 8, formed little partnerships with the remaining batsmen to carry his side to victory.
Latif faced 31 deliveries for his unbeaten 11 and had his last man, La Rose, with him for the last over. Needing six runs from the final over, Latif just had to hold his nerve as seamer Rafael McKenzie gifted Demerara three wide deliveries and a leg bye.
McKenzie’s first delivery was a wide, taking the equation down to five runs needed from six deliveries. However, it seemed as though McKenzie would make amends, as the next two deliveries were dot balls. Needing five from four, McKenzie sent down another wide to even things up. His next delivery would be a dot, while Latif took a single off the following ball.
With last man La Rose on strike and Demerara needing three from two, La Rose scampered through for a leg bye to give Latif the strike. Having two to defend from one delivery, McKenzie would essentially hand Demerara the game with his third wide of the over, giving Latif a second chance to win the game.
He duly obliged with a glance to the square leg, and La Rose crossed and made his ground to spark jubilant celebrations as the Demerara team ran onto the field to hug their last pair of heroes.
Meanwhile, over at the Malteenoes Sports Club Ground, Essequibo bowled out the Select XI for 115 in 34.3 overs after posting 180/7 from their 50 overs to win by 65 runs. Essequibo’s Jathneil Nurse was the man of the match, with key contributions of 43 with the bat and figures of 3/14 with the ball.
The National U-15 side will be selected in the coming days, with top performers from the last week of matches sure to make the set-up.
