Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Sukhdeo’s Select: A Guyanese XI
Saturday 9 May 2009

Pirates of the St Lawrence spanked 163 in their first home match of 2009, but it wasn’t enough to see them topple Sukhdeo’s Select. Fielding first, the Pirates struck early after tight opening spells from pacemen Phil Roche and Nick Wigley. The introduction of Shaun Loubser, who spent his winter resting at home, sparked a mini collapse among the Guyanese. He ripped out the heart of the middle order with his left arm spin in a spell of 3 for 31. Conditions weren’t easy in the downpour. A semi-naked Amrit Sanger, not scared his tan would wash off, flexed his muscles and joined the party. He bowled with venom, picking up dangerman Rakesh thanks to a swirling catch from Hugue St-Jean at mid wicket. It was Thiery Milot who was the pick of the Pirates fielders. He bagged a rocket on the long leg boundary off a Bharat Kumar long hop, leaping to his right. It looked like it would carry Milot into the ditch for six. This year’s pro, Brahma Melaram, was given a bar of soap and proceeded to bowl like Glenn McGrath. Only 15 runs came off his 8 overs. Anton Parker, Prince of Ukraine, and debutant Manas Gupta pegged back the batsmen in the powerplay overs. Bell, bowling seam-up wobblies, picked up three quick wickets before Ian Gunther, who had a flawless game behind the stumps, took off the keeping pads to wrap up the innings.

The Pirates did well given the conditions to take 11 wickets, but 45 extras again were to prove deadly.

Chasing 204 on a soggy outfield, with 12 fielders, was never going to be easy. It was a stop-start reply. Wides kept the score ticking along. Milot and Loubser looked steady at the top of the order. But straight bowling from Sukhdeo’s Select soon took it’s toll. Bell hit 25 before being given run out controversially. Hari Sukhdeo made a direct hit on the stumps from extra cover, but the batsmen, fielders, home umpire, and even spectators in the beer tent believed he’d made it back. Replays later showed the batsman was home safely. Anton Parker and Nick Wigley injected some urgency into the run chase, making hay in the rain, before Brahma Melaram and the mysterious ‘John’ produced some late innings fireworks. It was sixes galore, as the Pirates amassed 163 in 33 overs.

Ten of the thirteen batsmen were bowled, suggesting hockey keeping practice is needed.

Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Sukhdeo’s Select: A Guyanese XI
Saturday 9 May 2009
The Candy Fields, Mont-Saint-Hilaire
Match type: 40 overs per side
Weather conditions: Grey and drizzling
Result: Sukhdeo’s Select won by 40 runs

Sukhdeo’s Select: A Guyanese XI Innings

Mohammad Umar ct Bell b Loubser 12 (2×4)
Raja Sukhdeo ct Bell b Roche 3
Mohammad Saddick ct Gunther b Loubser 13 (1×4, 1×6)
Veejay Ramgulam ct Milot b Loubser 8
Rakesh ct St-Jean b Sanger 2
Suresh Ramkissoon ct Milot b Kumar 44 (3×4, 3×6)
Hari Sukhdeo b Kumar 20 (3×4)
Mahesh Ramkissoon b Bell 25 (1×4)
Bhajooram Sukhdeo not out 25 (1×4)
Saywack lbw Bell 0
Ramkissoon ct Wigley b Bell 3
Ray Nowrang lbw Gunther 1
R Ramgulam not out 2

Extras 45 (Byes 0, Leg Byes 2, No Balls 4, Wides 39)
Total 203 for 11 in 40 overs

Bowling

Phil Roche 5 overs, 34 runs, 1 wicket
Nick Wigley 3 overs, 17 runs, 0 wickets
Shaun Loubser 4 overs, 31 runs, 3 wickets
Amrit Sanger 2 overs 12 runs, 1 wicket
Hugue St-Jean 2 overs, 14 runs, 0 wickets
Bharat Kumar 4 overs, 28 runs, 2 wickets
Brahma Melaram 8 overs, 1 maiden, 15 runs, 0 wickets
Anton Parker 2 overs, 14 runs, 0 wickets
Manas Gupta 2 overs, 10 runs, 0 wickets
Angus Bell 5 overs, 19 runs, 3 wickets
Thiery Milot 1 over, 3 runs, 0 wickets
Ian Gunther 2 overs, 10 runs, 1 wicket

Pirates of the St Lawrence Innings

Shaun Loubser b S Ramkissoon 3
Thiery Milot run out 0
Bharat Kumar b H Sukhdeo 1
Angus Bell (c) run out (H Sukhdeo) 25 (1×6)
Phil Roche ct M Ramkissoon b R Sukhdeo 6
Ian Gunther (wk) b R Sukhdeo 4
Hugue St-Jean b R Sukhdeo 1
Danny b M Ramkissoon 3
Anton Parker b Rajesh 14 (1×4)
Manas Gupta b M Ramkissoon 0
Phil Macleod b M Ramkissoon 0
Nick Wigley b S Ramkissoon 19 (1×4)
Brahma Melaram b S Ramkissoon 14 (2×6)
John b M Saddick 24 (3×6)
Thiery Milot not out 2

Extras 47 (Byes 2, Leg Byes 7, No Balls 0, Wides 38)
Total 163 for 14 in 33 overs

Bowling

Hari Sukhdeo 6 overs, 1 wicket, 29 runs
Suresh Ramkissoon 5 overs, 3 wickets, 22 runs
Rafique 3 overs, 0 wickets, 11 runs
Raja Sukhdeo 7 overs, 3 wickets, 17 runs
Mahesh Ramkissoon 5 overs, 3 wickets, 15 runs
Andy 2 overs, 0 wickets, 10 runs
Rajesh 2 overs, 1 wicket, 12 runs
Mohammad Umar 1 over, 0 wickets, 11 runs
Ray Nowrang 1 over, 0 wickets, 13 runs
Mohammad Saddick 1 over, 1 wicket, 16 runs