Bodoe bowls Clarke Road into final

When First Citizen’s Clarke Road batted, he struck an aggressive 72. Then Mahadeo Bodoe turned up yesterday to grab five wickets for 18 runs to lead his team to a 23-run win over Clico Preysal in the semi-finals of the Carib Cup limited overs cricket series at Gilbert Park, California.

The Penal boys now meet Ceramic Merryboys in the final.Chasing 214 runs for victory, Preysal got off to a brisk start reaching 82 from 10 overs as hard-hitting Andy Jackson went after the Clarke Road bowling. However his dismissal for 51 slowed the run rate. The opener thrilled the huge crowd with eight fours and a six. Former West Indies all-rounder Keith Arthurton then played a very intelligent knock and together with Aaron Ragoonath, who made 31, paced the innings towards a seeming victory. However the intervention of the experience pair of spinners in Bodoe and Trinidad and Tobago  player Mukesh Persad then turned the match on its head as the pair claimed the last seven wickets.

Arthurton was dismissed by Bodoe for 41 that included a six and five fours and Dinesh Ramdin fell in the same over. All this while the required run rate was climbing. With quick runs needed wickets started to fall and PowerGen fell for 193, with Bodoe finishing with five for 18 and Persad, three for 28. Bodoe for his efforts was named “Man of the Match”. President of Clarke Road Cricket Club, Baldath Mahabir, said after that the key point in the match  was the introduction of the experienced Persad and Bodoe towards the end of the innings. “The experience showed in the end and we must say thanks to our captain for a great performance that has now taken us to the finals,” Mahabir said.

SUMMARISED SCORES
FCB Clarke Road 213/5 (30 overss) (Mahadeo Bodoe 72 n.o., Sean Siloch 44, Damodar Dasrath 32, Gibran Mohammed 25, Kenton Thompson 16, Anderson Bryce 2/27, Keith Arthurton 1/28) def Clico Preysal 193 all out (Andy Jackson Keith Arthurton 41, Aaron Ragoonath 31, Mahadeo Bodoe 5/18, Mukesh Persad 3/28) —- By 23 runs. “Man-of-Match”: Mahadeo Bodoe.