NATIONAL all-rounder Damodar Daesrath hit a fine 88 to highlight last Sunday’s third round in the 2005 Berbice Zone of the Neal & Massy national 40-over cricket competition.

The right-handed Daesrath who led Guyana in the first half the Carib Beer Cricket Series earlier this year, spanked eight fours and four sixes in a knock that came off 82 balls to spur Young Warriors to an easy seven-wicket win over Bermine.

Other good performances in the round came from Blairmont Community Centre’s opener Karamdat Bissondial with an attractive unbeaten 72 that propelled his team to victory over Rose Hall Community Centre.

Kemraj Sumir of Rose Hall Community Centre with 58, Rose Hall Town Courts’s Delbert Hicks (56), Jason Leitch 54 of Police and Port Mourant’s Moshein Perkhan 52 were the other batsmen recording half-centuries.

In the bowling department, there were four wickets haul for veteran Hubern Evans of Young Warriors with his off-spinners, 18-year-old fast bowler Royden Gray of Kildonan and West Berbice’s medium pacer Rajbance Hemraj.

Apart from Young Warriors and Blairmont, West Berbice, Rose Hall Town Courts and Port Mourant were all victorious. West Berbice had the better of Police by three wickets, Rose Hall Town brushed aside Albion by eight wickets and Port Mourant defeated Kildonan by 16 runs.

The other match that was fixed for the day between Viturn and Skeldon Community Centre at No.69 was rained out without a ball being bowl.

At Cumberland, Young Warriors defeated Bermine by seven wickets. Bermine, batting first after winning the toss, were all out for 172 off the final ball in their 40 overs after being at one stage on 143 for four.

Skipper Rawlston Tappin was again among the runs with 45 while Andrew Williams with 38, Anthony D’Andrade 35 and Jason Sripaul 22 also made good contributions.

Evans had excellent figures of four for two from three overs, and left-arm spinner Richard Ramdeen took three for 33 bowling for Young Warriors who replied with 174 for three from 33.4 overs.

Daesrath, 88, was supported by Balram Samaroo, 37, and Gajanand Singh 35 not out. Daesrath and Singh put on exactly 100 for the third wicket in 16 overs.

Across at the Rose Hall Community Centre, the home team went down to Blairmont by 6 wickets. Chasing 154 for victory after their bowler would have done well to clean up Rose Hall Community Centre for 153, having batted 38.4 of their allotted 40 overs, Blairmont made 155 for four in 30.3 overs.

Karamdat Bissondial scored 72 not out and Vishal Nagamootoo 22.

Earlier, Nagamootoo, better known for his wicket-keeping picked up three for 19 bowling off-spin while fellow off-spinners Hoolsarran Lalsa and Karamdat Bissondyal supported with two for nine and 19 respectively bowling for Blairmont.

Over in West Berbice, at the Bush Lot ground, West Berbice beat Police by three wickets. Police were bundled out for 143 in 36.2 overs with Leitch 54.

Hemraj grabbed four for 27 and off-spinners Devon Downer two for 21 and Kenje Sedoc two for 25, bowling for the West Berbicians.

West Berbice responded with 144 for seven, reaching their target with just three deliveries to spare. Salim Satar and Leroy Bristol led the way with 26 each and Hemraj 21.

Fast bowler Michael Newland took two for 19, leg-spinner De Cunha two for 29 and left-arm spinner Leitch two for 33 bowling for the cops.

At Kildonan, in a match reduced to 30 overs because of rain, Port Mourant batting first were restricted to 143 for eight from their allotment of overs. Fifty-two runs came from the bat of Perkhan, Nandalall Jalim 25, Zamal Khan 22 and Rajiv Ivan 21.

Gray snapped up four for 29 from six overs, medium pacer Mankarran Singh two for 19 and Paul Ashram two for 21 with his off-spin.

Kildonan in their turn at the crease made 127 all out in 28.3 overs with Dwight Waldron and Roopnarine Ramlall top-scoring with 28 each and 27 from Singh.

Khan returned with the ball to take 3 for 30, Rajendra Latch two for 26, Rajendra Bolo two for 23 and Parsram Tilkuram two for two, all off-spinners, to give Port Mourant victory by 16 runs.

And at Area H in Rose Hall Town, Rose Hall Town thrashed Albion by eight wickets. Albion were bowled out for a paltry 113 in 36 of their allotted 37 overs after rain cut short the match by three overs per side.

Sudesh Dhaniram with 37 and Sewnarine Chattergoon 22 were the only batsmen offering any meaningful resistance as left-arm spinner Ravi Narine picked up 3 for 30, off-spinner Neil Williams two for six and medium pacer Assad Fudadin two for 26.

Rose Hall Town in reply made 114 for two in 33 overs. Hicks and Fudadin were unbeaten on 56 and 24 each while Andre Percival made 23.

West Berbice are leading Zone A in the points standing having accumulated 12 points followed by Young Warriors ten, Bermine nine and Blairmont six. Police and Rose Hall Community Centre, the other two teams in the Zone are yet to score a point. All six teams in the Zone have so far played three matches.

In Zone B, Viturn, Rose Hall Town Courts and Albion with eight points each have taken the lead. However, Viturn and Rose Hall Town have played only two matches while Albion completed three.

Port Mourant have four from three matches while Skeldon and Kildonan are without a point after playing one and three matches respectively.

The competition will continue this weekend with the playing off of the final two preliminary rounds before the top two teams from each Zone meet in the Berbice Zone semi-finals.