By Saif Yasin
In one of the most highly anticipated matches of the year Big Apple C.C. took on Richmond Hill C.C. at the Baisley Park Cage on Sunday June 5th. In a match that had all the workings, fans were treated to an amazing match.
Vishal Nagamootoo of Richmond Hill hit 49 and took 4 for 24. Photo by Shiek Mohamed
Commentators Carl Bennett and Lenny Achaibar were also on attendance to provide spectators with spectacular commentary. What more could fans ask for than to see two of the best teams in the EACA, that are composed of some of the best regional players.
In a battle of youth vs. experience we saw Richmond Hill win the toss and elect to bat first against what seemed to be a monstrous Big Apple fast bowling unit. Opening things up for Richmond Hill was former Guyana national player Vishal Nagamootoo and Imran Alli and for Big Apple Telston Johnson and Charlton Senior once again shared the new ball. Johnson bowled a tidy spell from the Foch Boulevard end but Senior who was not use to bowling from the opposite end had a difficult time. At the end of the second over the score was on 18 without loss.
Theron Blair would replace Senior in the fourth over but had similar results as Nagamootoo and Alli took him for 12 in his first over. Imran Alli would eventually fall to Blair being caught of his bowling for 19. Nagamootoo would continue his onslaught of the Big Apple bowlers but he would eventually fall for a well played 49 of the bowling of Kumar Nandalall. Royo Sankar would fall cheaply for 8 of the bowling of Shiv Ragahubar followed by Zaheer Sadloo falling for 1 off the bowling of Zaheer Saffie.
With score on 124 for 4 seasoned New York cricketer Debo Sankar to the reigns of the Richmond Hill batting while new batsmen Saeed Mohamed settled in. Sankar would depart for a well played 38 with the score on 141, from there captain Shameer Sadloo and Saeed Mohamed put on a massive 6th wicket partnership of 71 that took Richmond Hill to a decent total of 231 for 8.
Innings Summary:
Richmond Hill C.C. 231 for 8: Vishal Nagamootoo 49, Saeed Mohamed 49, Shameer Sadloo 41
Big Apple C.C: Zaheer Saffie7-0-39-2, Shiv Raghubar7-0-47-2, Theron Blair 7-0-57-2
In reply to Richmond Hill’s total of 232 Big Apple sent out openers Mark Gomes and Mark A. Gomes while in a rare occurrence we saw opening batsman Vishal Nagamootoo bowl the new ball along with Dereck McDonald for Richmond Hill. The gamble would pay off as Nagamootoo only conceded 2 runs in his first over while at the start of his over, McDonald deceived Mark Gomes with a ball drifting down the leg side which eventually led to Gomes being stumped for 1. Big Apple was immediately under pressure when Clain Williams fell in the next over to Nagamootoo. With the score on 9 for 2 Zaheer Saffie came to the crease and who along with Mark A. Gomes put on a 40 run partnership to help rebuild the Big Apple innings. Gomes would depart soon after for 15 of the bowling of none other than Nagamootoo. From there on Big Apple never could never get any particular partnership going, this was in part of the Richmond Hill bowlers ripping through the batting line up. Spectators saw minor contributions from some of the Big Apple batsmen but nothing serious enough the put a dent in Richmond Hill’s total.
A 9th wicket partnership of 46 by Charlton Senior and Shawn Thompson delayed Richmond Hill’s victory but in the end we saw Richmond Hill win by 78 runs
Inning Summary
Big Apple C.C.153 all out: Shawn Thompson 27, Zaheer Saffie 26, Shiv Raghubar 25
Richmond Hill C.C. Vishal Nagamootoo 8-0-24-4, Rampaul Bactowar 8-0-21-2, Dereck McDonald 8-0-51-2
Saif Yasin is a 16 year-old student at Scholars Academy and a member of Big Apple Cricket Club.
