BCB/Nagamootoo Brothers Challenge Cup…
Story and Photos By Brandon Corlette

The Whim Community Centre Cricket Club defeated the Rose Hall Town Tigers by 31 runs to clinch the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) Nagamootoo Brothers Challenge Cup. Played at the Whim Community Centre, player of the match Vinode Samaroo set the stage on fire with a blistering 77 to take Whim to a competitive score of 160-8 in their allotted 15 overs while Rose Hall Tigers were restricted to 129 all out in 14.2 overs.

Whim batting first began, in scorching fashion despite losing an early wicket. Samaroo and Moonsammy Veerasammy destroyed the Tigers bowling and took advantage of the poor fielding. Veersammy was dismissed for 30 which included three fours and one six. Samaroo continued to blaze away and he was well supported by Kumar Motoin who scored 34, decorated with three fours and one six.

The right-handed Samaroo who looked set for a century was dismissed for 77 which included eight towering sixes, and three fours. He sized up the Tigers bowlers with the aim of slamming the ball towards the Whim Police Station. Bowling for the jaded Tigers, veteran Kemraj ‘Tadpole’ Mahadeo claimed 4-14 in three impressive overs while skipper Turbo Jagdeo 2-18 in his three overs.

In response, the Tigers looked rusty and luck was not on their side in terms of umpires’ decisions. Former National youth player Balchand Baldeo (09), former National wicket-keeper Delbert Hicks (05), Mark Papanah (03) and the prize scalp of Mahadeo (00) all fell cheaply as Whim opened the floodgates early. The brother of West Indies player Veerasammy Permaul, Veerapen Permaul was the lone resistor with the bat for the Tigers, scoring an attractive 55 which was decorated with six fours and two sixes. The Whim bowlers proved a handful as Rose Hall Town Tigers ended on 129 all out in 14.2 overs. The Harrinarine brothers did the damage with the ball. Tameshwar claimed 3-14 in three overs while seamer Yogishwar had 2-19 in in three overs.

Earlier in the three-match challenge, Tiger defeated Belvidare United in a low-scoring match. Tigers batting first scored 55 all out with Jagdeo being the stand-out player scoring 12 and returned with the ball to pick up four wickets to bowl out the United for 38 all out in 10 overs. Whim had earlier trounced Tain Block Four to advance to the final.
In collaboration with the vibrant BCB, this tournament was sponsored by former Guyana player Vishal Nagamootoo and his brother, Mahendra Nagamootoo, a former West Indies player. At the presentation, the daughter of Mahendra presented the winning and runner-up team trophies, player of the match medal and a special wicket-keeping kit was presented to the Whim wicket-keeper.