Roberts (99) pilots MerryBoys

Superb batting by discarded national middle-order batsman Lincoln Roberts (99) and national youth player Richard Kelly (63) piloted Ceramic MerryBoys to an thrilling eight-wicket victory over British American Aranguez in their Group “A” third round match at the Diego Martin Recreation Ground yesterday.

Omitted from the TT squad for the seventh round Carib Beer Cup match against Leeward Islands starting tomorrow, Roberts proved his worth with a match-winning innings which was decorated with thirteen blistering fours.  But he was not alone in the fireworks as MerryBoys form batsman Kelly continued with another important half-century which was seven fours. Keno Mason, with an unbeaten 26, saw his team home with one ball remaining. They topped Group “A” with three consecutive victories and was joined by Queen’s Park Cricket Club who raced to a comfortable six-wicket win over Moosai Sports through Jonathan Augustus (40) and Brent Augustus (54).

Defending champions PowerGen Sports romped to a convincing nine-wicket victory over Cosmos Sports while Group “D” rivals FCB Clarke Road United clinched a 93-run win over Mayo Valley Boys. Both winners are through to the quarter-finals. However, the net run-rate will be used to determine the final qualifier in Group “C” as three clubs — Tile It Central Sports, Caroni Wanderers and Transbrokerage Couva Sports — finished with one win each and three points. Yesterday, Andrew Gonsalves 61 (two sixes and nine fours), Jaggernath Ramnanan 60 not out (eight fours) and skipper Allan Ramroop 36 (one six and three fours) combined to pull off a sensational two-wicket win with two balls remaining against Caroni Wanderers at the Brechin Castle ground. Former champion Alescon Comet scraped home off the final ball against Texaco Police at the Pierre Road Recreation Ground.

Summarised Scores
Group “A”
At Honeymoon Park: Moosai’s Sports 156 for 8 (30 overs) vs QPCC 157 for 4 off 26 overs (Jonathan Augustus 40, Brent Augustus 54 not out). Result: QPCC won by six wickets. MoM: Brent Augustus (QPCC).
At Diego Martin: British American Aranguez 212 for 8 off 30 overs vs Ceramic MerryBoys 213 for 2 off 29.5 overs (Lincoln Roberts 99, Richard Kelly 63, Keno Mason 26 not out). Result: MerryBoys won by 8 wickets. MoM: Lincoln Roberts (MerryBoys).
Group “B”
At Pierre Road: Texaco Police 190 for 8 (30 overs) vs Alescon Comet 191 for 8 off 30 overs (Junior Sadhoo 46, Avinash Jaggernauth 39, Robert Mahabir 2 for 40).  MoM: Robert Mahabir (Police) Result: Comet won by two wickets.
At Endeavour: Low Cost Munroe Road 123 all out in 29.1 overs vs S&J Endeavour Sports 124 for 9 off 30 overs (Jodhan Manohar 31, Hemant Ballai 20, Narine Roopnarine 25 not out). Result: S&J Endeavour won by one wicket off last ball. MoM: Narine Roopnarine (S&J Endeavour).
Group “C”
At Inshan Ali Park: CLICO Preysal 182 for 7 (30 overs) vs Tile It Central Sports 160 all out off 30 overs (Reyad Emrit 46, Derwin Christian 29, Satish Naidoo 25; Keith Arthurton 4 for 21. Result: Clico Preysal won by 22 runs. MoM: Keith Arthurton (Preysal).
At Gilbert Park: Caroni Wanderers 212 for 8 (30 overs) vs Transbrokerage Couva Sports 213 for 8 off 29.4 overs (Andrew Gonsalves 61, Jaggernauth Ramnanan 60 not out, Allan Ramroop 36; Avidesh Samaroo 3 for 20, Kishore Lalchan 2 for 46). Result: Couva Sports won by two wickets. MoM: Jaggernath Ramnanan (Couva Sports).
Group “D”
At Kumar Recreation Ground: Cosmos 150 for 8 (30 overs) vs PowerGen Sports 151 for 1 off 21.2 overs (Winston Duncan 52, Ahmed Mohammed 52 not out, Sherwin Ganga 33). Result: PowerGen won by nine wickets. MoM: Ahmed Mohammed (PowerGen).
At Wilson Road: FCB Clarke Road 261 for 5 (30 overs) vs Mayo Valley Boys 168 for 8 off 30 overs (Lalchand Persaud 37, David Lee 35, Anil Rooplal 24, Kenton Thompson 3 for 40, Rajesh Moonan 3 for 31). Result: FCB Clarke Road won by 93 runs. MoM: Gibran Mohammed (Clarke Road). 

Quarter-Finals..
Group A: Ceramic MerryBoys (9 points), QPCC (6 points).
Group B: Aleson Comets (9 points), S&J Endeavour (6 points).
Group C: CLICO Preysal (9 points),
Group D: FCB Clarke Road (9 points), PowerGen (6 points).