TCL Group Regional Under-19 Cricket Challenge
Round 5 Day 1
July 25, 2009

T&T’s bid for the 2009 regional youth title was put on the hold after they met with stubborn resistance from lowly-rated Guyana on the opening day of the fifth round of the TCL Group Under-19 Challenge here on Saturday at Elleston Road.

Replying to Guyana’s modest total of 228, title-chasing T&T closed on 68 for two, still needing a further 160 for first innings lead with eight wickets remaining.

Opener Amir Khan (25) and the tall-scoring Yannic Cariah (3) are the not out batsmen, while the batsmen dismissed was Nicholas Alexis (21) who was caught at the wicket by skipper Anthony Bramble off Keon Joseph’s bowling with the total on 34, while Evin Lewis (11) was leg before to spinner Alex Amsterdam with the score on 61.

Middle-order batsman Jonathan Foo was the leading run-getter for Guyana with 50, while there were good contributions, from Jeetendra Sookeo with 48 and Alex Amsterdam 35.

Pint-sized leg-spinner Kissoondath Magram was the top bowler for T&T with three for 41, while there were two wickets apiece for debutant allrounder Aniel Harrypersad (2-21), skipper Yannick Ottley (2-33) and the tournament’s leading wickettaker Cariah (2-41).

Earlier, Guyana skipper Anthony Bramble won the toss and opted for first strike on a lively track at the Guyana Police Ground.

Bramble and Trevon Griffith opened the batting and soon found themselves in trouble as Harrypersad with the final ball in his first over, accounted for the former, trapped in front for nine with the total on 10.

In his next over Harrypersad up-rooted the stumps of Griffith (13) with the first ball of his second over to leave Guyana on the ropes on 27 for two.

Alex Amsterdam denied the lanky fast bowler his hat-trick.

He joined forces with the promising left-handed batsman J Sookdeo and the duo added an important 70-run partnership before they separated, when Sookdeo was well-caught on the mid-wicket boundary by Nicholas Alexis off Cariah’s bowling for a well played 48 off 49 balls and laced with nine fours.

Foo then partnered Amsterdam and pushed the score along to 115, before the latter perished, bowled by off-spinner Khan for 35, which was compiled off 80 balls and included two fours and two sixes.

Guyana went to the lunch interval at 116 for four, with Foo on 11 and Royston Alkins yet to score.

On the resumption, the pair of Foo and Alkins featured in fifth wicket partnership of 70 before Foo was dismissed for an even fifty.

The right-handed batsman was stumped by wicketkeeper Aaron Alfred of Kissoondath Magram’s bowling. Foo innings spanned 82 minutes and 66 balls and included three fours and three sixes.

Guyana lost two more wickets before tea and at the break, they were 212 for seven, with Keon Joseph on six and Totaram Bishun yet to score.

After the interval, the Guyanese innings folded for an additional 16 runs.

SCOREBOARD