GCB/CGI 3-Day Franchise League… 18 wickets tumble on opening day to leave contest evenly poised

Sep 23, 2017 Sports, https://www.kaieteurnewsonline...ntest-evenly-poised/

By Sean Devers in Berbice
In association with Vnet Communications

Yesterday was hard work for the batsmen as 18 wickets tumbled on a track with preparation moisture at the Young Warriors ground in Cumberland as the first day of the fourth round of the GCB/CGI three-day Franchise League contest between host Lower Corentyne and East Bank ended evenly poised.
Only talented 16-year-old National U-19 player Kelvon Anderson with 44 from 96 minutes and 122 balls with three fours offered token resistance. He got support from Seon Hetymer who hit three boundaries in 28, while Veerasammy Permaul smashed a quick-fire 17 from 12 balls with three fours.
Pacer Sherfane Rutherford (4-39) and off-spinner Darshan Persaud (4-30) bowled well for East Bank who finished on 132-8, with Steven Jacobs who made 31 with two fours and two sixes and Renaldo Ali-Mohammed who made 32 with a four and two sixes, the only batsmen reaching 20 as Permaul (3-38) and Kassim Khan (3-48) brought their team back into the game.
East Bank won the toss and elected to bat in glorious sunshine on a slow pitch with some assistance for the spinners and quickly lost Waheid Edwards (1) caught off Keon Morris at 6-1 before national U-19 opener Alex Algoo and Anderson took the score to 47 before the small crowd saw Jacobs trap Algoo LBW for 19.
Anderson stroked left arm back of the arm spinner Totaram Bishun for four and flicked Mohammed-Ali disdainfully for four and along with Hetymer, the younger brother of Test batsman Shimron Hetymer, carried the score to 99 with a 52-run stand on the small ground before Anderson got a good delivery from Rutherford and edged it to Jacobs at slip and at Lunch the score was 104-3.
Hetymer’s demise off Persaud just after the Interval, at 112-4, triggered a slump as three wickets tumbled for six runs. Devon Clements (12), Jason Sinclair (4) and Hakeem Hinds (1) were removed by Rutherford and Persaud respectively.
Permaul and Khan staged a minor recovery with Permaul hitting Rutherford for back-to-back boundaries before smashing Persaud for another boundary in the next over as he dominated the eighth wicket stand before he fell to Persaud at 141-8.
Khan (2) then ducked into a short ball from Rutherford which ballooned to slip off his glove and Raun Johnson was caught behind by Corwin Austin as Persaud ended the innings a run-later in a disappointing performance by the Lower Corentyne Franchise.
When East Bank began their reply, West Indies U-15 Captain Sachin Singh (6) was removed by pacer Neil Smith at 9-1 before Mark Robe was caught behind off Johnson for a duck to leave the score on 12-2 but Romaine Maniram and Jacobs both started shakily and both benefitted from early chances.
The pair consolidated the position by taking the score to 61 before Maniram (14) was taken at slip off Khan at 53-3.
Jacobs, who inside edged one past the Keeper for four and lofted Khan onto the Road behind the sightscreen, lost his head and his wicket when he needlessly chipped into Permaul and skied a catch to long-on at 61-4 before Khan was removed by Rutherford at 78-5.
Renaldo Ali-Mohammed dumped Khan for a couple of sixes and along with Ershad Ali, who struck three fours in 17, saw the score to 101 when Ali-Mohammed fell to Khan.
Permaul soon removed Austin (8) at 132-8 before Persaud and Morris survived to the close.
Today is the second day and play starts at 09:30hrs