West Indies and Guyana Amazon Warriors start batsman, Shimron Hetmyer, hit an unbeaten 30 ensuring his team took a seven wicket victory over the strong Rose Hall Town team. Earlier player-of-the-match Trevon Stanislaus’ 2-20 restricted Rose Hall Town to 95-6 when their 100 balls expired.
The packed Albion Community Centre Ground came alive as the presence of Hetmyer excited all Berbicians. In the day-night 100-ball affair that started at exactly 16:40h, Rose Hall Town Captain Shawn Pereira won the toss and opted to take first strike. Openers Kevin Sinclair and Junior Sinclair strolled out to bat under afternoon cloud.
Young Warriors led by Suresh Dhani, saw left-arm spinner Trevon Stanislaus bowling the new ball and removing Junior Sinclair in the first over of the match. Junior fell without troubling the scores when he checked a shot and was caught and bowl by his former Berbice Under-19 team mate.
Kevin Sinclair continued to build but he was brilliantly run out by Linden Austin for 13. A huge roar came from the crowd after the prize scalp of Sinclair had been dismissed. The natives from Canje, came in their numbers to witness a Young Warriors team overthrow the Rose Hall Town team.
Kevlon Anderson then entered but was out in similar fashion, caught and bowl by Stanislaus for a duck. The Rose Hall Town were at one stage reeling at 3-2 but Jason Sinclair, the older brother of Junior consolidated for a moment until he was dismissed by Austin. Off-spinner Linden Austin shattered the stumps of Jason Sinclair (08) with the score on 25-3 that became 25-4.
The Rose Hall Town team lost their front line batters early but senior players in Eon Hooper and Captain Shawn Pereira stepped up. Hooper and Pereira added 36 runs together; Hooper was dismissed for a top score of 24, while Pereira was unbeaten on 21.
Keon Sinclair (11) and Keith Simpson (09) saw Rose Hall Town Gizmos and Gadgets finished on 93-6 after 100 balls. Stanislaus ended with 2-20 in three overs, while Austin, Dhani and Ishwar Singh had one wicket each.
In pursuit of a small total, Young Warriors openers Alex Algoo and Ishwar Singh danced out to bat, with the intention of producing a good start for the Hetmyer brothers. Algoo fearlessly pulled the bumping Keon Sinclair for four before he was out that same over. The aggressive Algoo was bowed off a ball that kept low for four.
It was then the moment everyone had been waiting for, the entrance of Shimron Hetmyer. The gifted Test player and RCB bound batsman, entered with the score on 4-1. Hetmyer had a slow start, with poor fielding from Rose Hall Town team seeing him dropped on various occasions. Nevertheless, Hetmyer came and entertained the crowd with his attractive strokes.
Ishwar Singh was out for a composed 20 that included five fours, after he was bowled by fast bowler Keon Sinclair. Linden Austin and Shimron Hetmyer added 32 runs together, with Austin falling for 15. In the process Hetmyer got going with a boundary of Junior Sinclair and the crowd at Albion were on their feet.
Shimron Hetmyer (30*) and Seon Hetmyer (15*) saw their team to a comprehensive seven wicket win ending the match with a huge six. The Young Warriors team ended non 96-3in 11 overs. It was the perfect revenge plot for Young Warriors who lost to the same Rose Hall Town team in two first division finals. At the post match presentation, Warriors captain Suresh Dhani was elated for the win his team essayed on his birthday. (Brandon Corlette)
