SUPERB SURZANO EDGED OUT BY DEANE AND GRAHAM

In every SSCL North Zone season, Diego Martin North Secondary and East Mucurapo Secondary can be guaranteed to deliver excellent performances during the course of their battles against each other. When both schools faced off in their U-16 division contest on February 5^th, 2015, they did not disappoint. There was individual brilliance aplenty as each team tried to stamp its authority on the game and those watching the action unfold were kept on the edge of their seats as the advantage in the contest swung back and forth between the combatants.

East Mucurapo won the toss and the Compre boys opted for first strike in the blazing Savannah sun. Their innings would quickly develop into a virtual two-man show as rival captains Malcolm Graham for Mucurapo and Kevon Surzano for Diego North fought tooth and nail to put their teams in the ascendancy. Surzano would draw first blood as he bowled Anthony Joseph with the 3^rd ball of the innings to immediately peg back the Compre charge, but Graham would answer in the next over, taking 10 runs off it. He would shepherd his young partner Jesus Batson for the next half hour as they fought against the determined Surzano until the 7^th over of the innings when the Diego North skipper produced a splendid double-wicket maiden to leave Mucurapo on 26-3. By now Surzano was beginning to tire and he would deliver one more over to end his five over spell with 3-11. His opposing captain would take full advantage of his absence to build a strong partnership with talented allrounder Kendell Constantine that took Mucurapo to 117-3 after 20 overs. With the cut-off time for the Compre innings fast approaching, Surzano began his second spell, immediately stifling the scoring off his overs once more. While Graham continued to pick up runs off the other bowlers, Surzano struck vital blows in his 8^th over. He ended the Graham-Constantine partnership at 140 by trapping Constantine LBW with his first ball then bowled the younger Constantine brother, Kareem, with his next delivery. His second double-wicket maiden would give him the impressive figures of 5-18 off 8 overs, personally taking all of the Compre wickets that fell to bowlers. Mucurapo would eventually close on 151-6 from the 26 overs possible in their allotted time. Skipper Graham stood unbeaten on 68 off 69 deliveries, having defied Diego North and Surzano for the entire duration of the innings, counting 6 sparkling boundaries in his knock.   

To begin his pursuit of victory, Graham would toss the brand new cherry to his tall fast bowler Michael Deane. Being genuinely quick was not Deane’s only quality of note, however, as he was one of that truly rare breed of cricketers – a LEFT-ARM pacer. He set to work straight away, employing his pace and swing to deliver a double-wicket maiden followed by another wicket maiden so that by the time Kevon Surzano strode out to the wicket the score was already 3-3. A less confident and assured player might have wilted in the face of the task before them, but Surzano was neither a rookie nor lacking in self-belief. His earlier 5-wicket haul had only served to strengthen his determination to fight on behalf of his team and fight he did. He took on the challenge posed by Deane’s prodigious swing and slowly got the Diego North innings moving forward. 19 runs were eked out for the 4^th wicket partnership and when that was ended with Kendall Constantine bowling the Diego North ‘keeper, Surzano found a steady ally in H. John. They would spend the next 7 overs compiling 46 runs as the Mucurapo captain rotated his remaining bowlers while Deane recovered after his initial spell. Diminutive Compre off-spinner Arun Sooknanan eventually got the breakthrough his captain was seeking, bowling John with his arm-ball. Diego North lost another quick wicket to find themselves at 79-6 at the end of the 19^th over. By this time Deane was well rested and itching for another shot at Surzano, who was still soldiering on bravely. Skipper Graham obliged and his leftie brought him another wicket in the next over, though it was not yet Surzano. Deane would not be denied much longer, however, as with the second ball of his 6^th over he finally prized out the Diego North captain, inducing a faint edge that the ‘keeper gleefully snatched up. His very next ball would claim the final wicket, ending the Diego North innings at 106 in their 24^th over. All told, Kevon Surzano had defied Mucurapo for 21 overs spanning almost 2 hours for a patient, gritty, hard-fought 32 which might have seemed small on paper but was gigantic in terms of effort and application.

Mucurapo’s left-arm pacer Deane ended the innings with the impressive return of 5.3 overs, 2 maidens, 6-13. Even more remarkable was the fact that of the 13 runs he conceded, only SIX came off the bat, the rest coming in wides as he fought to keep his swinging deliveries on target in the strong Savannah breeze. In yet another classic encounter, it was the combined might of Compre’s skipper and his deadly leftie that would prove to be just too much for valiant Kevon Surzano and his plucky Diego North outfit.