The curtain came down on the Queensway Inter-County Super50 Cup in dramatic fashion on Saturday, as Essequibo and Demerara played to a thrilling tie in the final held at the Joe Jagmohan Ground, Essequibo Coast.
The match was reduced to 45 overs because of early morning showers.
Batting first, Demerara were dismissed for 150 in 41.2 overs, with vice-captain Matthew Nandu top-scoring with a patient 35 from 64 balls.
Contributions also came from Mavindra Dindyal (18), Shamar Apple (17), Richie Looknauth (14) and Ashmead Nedd (12).
The wickets were evenly shared among the Essequibo bowlers. Ronsford Beaton claimed 2 for 13 from 6.2 overs, Thaddeus Lovell took 2 for 24 from 4 overs, Golcharran Chulai took 2 for 14, while Antony Adams, Ricardo Adams, and Keemo Paul picked up one wicket apiece.
In reply, Essequibo were bowled out for 150, leaving the match dramatically tied when Chulai was run out as Essequibo looked to squeeze past the defending champs. The experienced Antony Adams anchored the innings with a resolute unbeaten 30 from 95 balls but the top-score of 42 from 49 balls came from Thaddeus Lovell. Lovell’s innings included 4 fours and 2 sixes.
They were supported by Myheim Khan (15), Quentin Sampson (12).
For Demerara, Ronaldo Ali Mohamed was the standout performer with the ball, claiming 4 for 45 from nine overs to earn the Player of the Match award. Ashmead Nedd chipped in with 2 for 21, while Looknauth, Ramraj, and Nandu each took a wicket as the bowlers combined to keep the game finely balanced to the very end.
The contest was poised for a super over to decide the winner; however, with regulation play scheduled to end at 16:30 hours and the official extra cut-off time at 17:15 hours, in addition to bad light, the umpires ruled that there was insufficient time to continue. As a result, both teams were declared joint champions.
A total of $1.2 million in prize money was shared between the two sides, $700,000 sponsored by Queensway Security Inc. and an additional $500,000 contribution from Mr. Joe Jagmohan.
Matthew Nandu finished as the tournament’s leading run-scorer, amassing 224 runs from four innings at an average of 74.67, while Ritchie Looknauth and Ronaldo Ali Mohamed ended as the joint leading wicket-takers, with nine wickets each. Kemol Savory copped the most dismissal awards with 10 dismissals behind the stumps.

