By Brandon Corlette at Enmore
On a day filled with glorious sunshine, left-arm spinners Ricardo Adams and Nigel Deodat dominated the opening day of Round Two of the Guyana Cricket Board’s (GCB’s) Senior Inter-County four-day tournament at Enmore, ECD.
A total of 19 wickets fell as Adams claimed 5-25 from 14 overs to blow away a new-look Berbice team for 94 all out.
In response, Deodat had 5-42 from 14 overs to restrict Essequibo to 156-9 in 49 overs when stumps were drawn. Essequibo has a lead of 62 runs, and the final wicket will be aiming to frustrate the Berbicians.
Earlier, Berbice won the toss and opted to bat first. The inexperienced top-order was blown away by the Essequibo seamers. Alex Algoo made three, while Javed Karim was removed for a duck, his second in as many innings as he continues to struggle in this tournament.
Garfield Benjamin was also trapped at the crease for two as wickets continued to fall at regular intervals. Seon Hetmyer, elder brother of Shimron Hetmyer, looked promising for his 18, but he also failed to capitalize.
Captain Junior Sinclair, batting at number five, was struck on the leg and forced to retire hurt. He returned to bat, but managed only 10 runs.
West Berbice right-handed batsman Shamal Angel, batting at number seven, top-scored for Berbice with 34, but his innings contained only three fours, as Ricardo Adams proved too hot to handle.
Adams, a left-arm spinner as his brother Antony Adams, ended with magical figures of 5-25 from 14 overs. He bowled five maidens and was well supported by Quinten Sampson, who had 3-12 from 5.4 overs as Berbice folded for 94 all out in 38.4 overs.
Essequibo had a better start to their innings than Berbice. At tea, Essequibo reached 47-2 in 16 overs. Kevin Boodie (07) and Avinash Persaud (04) were the batsmen to fall. Deodat removed the Essequibo Captain Kevon Boodie, while Keyon Sinclair bowled Persaud.
Ronaldo Renee was unbeaten on 16, while Malcolm Hubbard was on 14. The final session saw wickets tumble as batsmen looked to attack as if it was a one-day game. Deodat took the bulk of the wickets for Berbice, and also pulled off a splendid catch at long-off to send the batsman Sampson back to the pavilion.
Renee, looking to go over the top, eventually lost his wicket for 38. Top-scorer of the day, Ricardo Adams, brother of Antony Adams, who will be on national duties, also looked aggressive with the bat, but his innings was short-lived on 23, while Sampson played his usual pugnacious role in his 35 which came from 28 balls.
Deodat ended with 5-42 from 14 overs, inclusive of three maidens, as Essequibo ended the day on 156-9 in 49 overs. Keyon Sinclair, one of three brothers in the Berbice playing XI, had one wicket, as did Gourav Ramesh, Suresh Dhani and Seon Hetmyer.
The second day will bowl off from 9:30h today at Enmore. (GTimes)