Pereira, Chattergoon keep Berbice title hopes alive

Apr 17, 2010 Sports

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By Sean Devers

Hampered by the controversial decision by Umpires in Essequibo to call off their match against the host due to bad light with them 13 short of an outright win, Berbice’s hopes of retaining their GTM under-19 cricket title was further dented by rain in the Capitol City in their final round game against Demerara at the Police ground.
But the lads from the Ancient County were staging a courageous fight to keep their title when they ended the penultimate day of their ‘must-win match’ 22 runs away from first innings points with nine wickets in hand.
After the entire first day was washed out and no play was possible until after lunch yesterday, the chances of Berbice registering an outright win seemed very improbable even as their Board is playing this match under protest over Essequibo being allowed to bowl just 7 overs in 49 minutes during the final stages of their last round game at Anna Regina in a very poor display of time-wasting tactics.
In hazy sunshine and on a slow track Berbice won the toss and asked Demerara to bat in their quest to try and win the game outright after their woes in Essequibo even though parts of the bowlers’ run-up was slightly damp.
National under-15 Skipper Shawn Pereira bowled the ball with refreshing flight and his clever leg-spin was rewarded with 5 wickets as Demerara, in a disappointing batting display, catapulted to 107 all out at Tea.
Former National under-15 Captain Harrinarine Chattergoon then stroked 8 fours and an effortless straight six off Guyana under-19 left-arm pacer Andre Stoll in an impressive unbeaten 51 to help Berbice to 86-1 off 22 overs in reply on the slow outfield.
Chattergoon, who played some audacious shots off his pads and through the covers, dominated an unfinished 77-run 2nd wicket stand with Dominic Rikhi (25*) after Daryl Ross, who bowled with genuine pace, had Mark Lionel caught behind for 2 at 9-1. GTM has been supporting this competition since 1976 and if the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) does not seriously and urgently address the problems that have propped up in this year’s tournament, the future of the competition could be jeopardy.
Yesterday the East Coast Cricket Board (ECCB) and the Berbice Management expressed concerns that Demerara youth selector Andrew Allen was appointed as one of the Umpires for the match. They feel this constitutes a conflict of interest.
Allen at a recent press conference to discuss the non- selection of an East Bank player on the Demerara team, expressed little confidence in the selection of East Coast batsman Arif Habib. Yesterday he raised his finger to send Habib leg before for a duck to spark a heated debate in the pavilion.
Demerara, who looked far less prepared than Berbice despite the obvious talent in the team, began badly when Clevon Hyman, asked to open ahead of Alex Romalho who again did not play, was removed for 4 at 8-1 by West Berbice pacer Raun Johnson.
Johnson, who last year’s competed in the National Athletics Championships and finished fifth in the 100meters Open, bowled with real pace and looked the fastest of the bowlers yesterday even as his new ball partner, West Indies under-19 and Guyana First-Class pacer Keon Joseph bowled well below his usual pace during his four overs.
Quincy Ovid-Richardson who hit 3 fours in 26 was just being to look ominous when he seemed unlucky to be given out stumped off Chattergoon at 45-2. None of the other batsmen except Shameer Fazal (19) who ran himself out at 50-3, reached 15 in a sub-standard exhibition of batsmanship for Demerara.
If Joseph, Johnson, Stoll, Ross, Seon Daniels and Rensford Beaton gives the selectors plenty of quality fast bowling options, the general batting in the competition must be a major headache as Guyana prepare for this year’s regional under-19 series in St Vincent.
Kwame Crosse who batted beautifully at Uitvlugt for 77 against Essequibo has the temperament for ‘long innings’ but yesterday Pereira, one of the few young spinners willing to toss the ball into the air and bowl slowly, had him caught at slip for 14 after Habib’s unfortunate demise and Demerara had slipped from 45-1 to 73-5.
Skipper Dexter Solomon (11) lofted Pereira to mid-on at 76-6 before the level-headed Pereira sent back Stoll (12) and Christopher Surat (8) as the host sank into further trouble. A stupendous catch; one-handed, diving to his right by Chattergoon at cover to remove Stoll was a highlight of the truncated day’s play and demonstrated the hunger for success of the Berbicians. Amir Khan (4) edged off-spinner Chattergoon to slip and Ross (6) was bowled by Pereira as Demerara were bowled out in one session. Chattergoon had 2-18.
The early wicket from Ross after Tea was Demerara’s only success yesterday before the Berbicians accepted a bad light offer at 15:48hrs with 22 required for first innings. “The pacer was brought back, although we knew runs were important today (yesterday) we did not want to lose a wicket since our aim is to come out tomorrow and score as quickly as possible to try and force a win. With the time left it could be a difficult task but if Demerara bat as they did in the first innings and our bowlers work hard we could still win this match and retain the title,” Berbice Coach Huburn Evans said. Once the weather does not intervene, play is scheduled to commence at 09:30hrs and Demerara will be desperate to hold on for a draw to become the new GTM three-day champions.

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