A brilliant 220 run partnership by Navin Stewart and Ewart Nicholson led a remarkable recovery by Moosai to give them a ten wicket victory over Diamond yesterday to maintain their position on top of the standings in the National Cricket League Premier Division.
National player Stewart and U-19 national player Nicholson, joined forces with the score on 128/5. Together, the pair took Moosai to 348, when Nicholson unfortunately fell two runs short of a century. Stewart took his tally to 130 not out when his team declared on 353/7. This gave Moosai a lead of 127 runs on first innings.
Batting a second time, Diamond were skittled out for 156. Spin bowler Amir Khan did most of the damage, snatching 6/29, while Chad Persadi made 47. Moosai only needed 30 for victory, which they got without the loss of a wicket.
Over at Syne Village, Jason Mohammed, Sherwin Ganga and national captain Denesh Ramdin were all in the Powergen line up to lead them to a crushing win over Caldrac by an innings and 57 runs. The national trio led Powergen to a mammoth 341, a 148 run lead on first innings. Mohammed made 59, Ramdin 55 and Ganga top-scored with 73.
In reply, Ganga's 5/37 bundled Caldrac out for 91, as opening batsman Mark Deyal was left stranded on 38 not out. These national players would be hoping to take this form into their match against the Combined Colleges and Campuses (CCC) on Thursday in the Super50 semifinal.
There was also an outright win for Seenath's Auto Bamboo by nine wickets over HKL Aranguez. Resuming day two on 171/5, a nine run lead on first innings, Deepak Kumar's unbeaten 72 took Bamboo's total to 306/7 declared. This gave Bamboo a huge lead of 144 on first innings. Deon Ferrier was the best bowler for Aranguez, taking 4/32.
In their second turn at the crease, Selvin Jacobs (4/44) and national player Yannic Cariah (3/52) reduced Aranguez to 171 all out. Aaron Ragoonath top-scored for Aranguez with 46, but Bamboo only needed 28 for victory, which they got without much trouble.
SCORES
AT SYNE VILLAGE: Caldrac 193 (Royston Crandon 65, Robert Mahabir 49 n.o., Sherwin Ganga 4/79, Jason Mohammed 3/32) and 91 (Mark Deyal 38 n.o., Ganga 5/37, Kavesh Kantasingh 5/44) vs Powergen 341 (Ganga 73, Mohammed 59, Denesh Ramdin 55, Allen Laurent 4/56, Royston Crandon 3/59). Powergen won by an innings and 57 runs.
AT WILSON ROAD: Alescon Comets 232 (Stephen Katwaroo 145 n.o., Zard Clarke 39, Deron Davis 4/51, Sanjiv Gooljar 3/73) and 201/5 (Katwaroo 63, Imran Khan 36, Gooljar 2/30) vs Clarke Road 337 (Ryan Ramdass 117, Rangana Latchana 105, Ancil Bhagan 6/98, Kissoondath Magram 3/70). Match Drawn.
AT HONEYMOON PARK: Diamond 226 (Emmanuel Lett 42, Fareel Jugmohan 38, Mervyn Dillon 3/45, Ken Hazel 3/48) and 156 (Chad Persadi 47, Amir Khan 6/29) vs Moosai 353/7 (Navin Stewart 130 no, Ewart Nicholson 98, Kjorn Ottley 59) and 34/0. Moosai won by 10 wickets.
AT ARANGUEZ: Aranguez 162 (Safraz Lalloo 65, Yannic Cariah 4/30, Rishaad Harris 3/23) and 171 (Aaron Ragoonath 46, Kellon Carmichael 44, Selvin Jacobs 4/44, Cariah 3/52) vs Bamboo 306/7 declared (Deepak Kumar 72 no, Cariah 53, Deon Ferrier 4/32) and 30/1. Bamboo won by 9 wickets.
AT ESMERALDA: Merry Boys 218 (Troy Cornelius 98, Mario Belcon 60, Ricky Jaipaul 4/65, Kerwin Sirjoo 3/34) and 169 (Aaron Alfred 31, Marlon Barclay 32, Ricky Jaipaul 6/48, Ahkeel Mollon 2/34) vs Esmeralda 252 (Teshawn Castro 100, Gajanand Singh 48, Emile Rajah 3/49, Alcindo Holder 2/15, Rayad Emrit 2/57 Javed Ramdanee 2/55) and 8/1. Match Drawn.
AT GILBERT PARK: QPCC vs Wanderers - no play