By JOEL BAILEY Monday, May 12 2008

POWERGEN strolled to a nine-wicket rout of Ceramic Merryboys in Saturday night’s semi-final of the WIPA Masters Twenty/20 Club Championships at Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre.

The result, in front of a large crowd estimated at 4,000, guaranteed PowerGen’s passage into last night’s decider against W Connection Wanderers, with a $1 million jackpot at stake.

Runners-up will receive $300,000.

Merryboys, one of the tournament’s favourites, went out without a whimper against an efficient PowerGen outfit.

Batting first, Merryboys were skittled out for 102 runs in 17.4 overs, and PowerGen replied with 106 for one wicket with 27 deliveries remaining.

Merryboys never got into stride after both openers Lendl Simmons and Mario Belcon falling for one run each.

Simmons edged Guyanese all-rounder Esau Crandon to wicketkeeper Gibran Mohammed while Belcon was trapped leg before, playing back to a straight delivery by PowerGen captain and leg-spinner Samuel Badree.

Past and present national players Lincoln Roberts and Richard Kelly were hardly offered any loose balls to free their arms, and their impatience showed in their dismissals, Kelly edging an almighty heave at Crandon to the keeper for 20 while Roberts was plumb LBW to off-spinner Sherwin Ganga.

Two comical run-outs, by Crandon’s brother Royston (eight) and Kenton Thompson (one), added to Merryboys’ woes, while captain Aneil Kanhai’s frustration showed when he was beaten in flight by Guyanese Lennox Cush and was stumped for a top-score of 27.

Off-spinner Cush took care of his countryman Neil McGarrell, bowling the ex-West Indies player for one, while national left-arm spinner Dave “Tadpole” Mohammed took the last two scalps, bowling Maxi Dejong for two and inducing an edge from Ken Hazel’s bat to Gibran Mohammed for a duck.

Dave Mohammed was Powergen’s leading bowler with 2/2 while Cush claimed 2/29.

Cush and Gibran Mohammed were hardly troubled by Merryboys’ bowlers, as they comfortably posted an opening stand of 92 before Thompson’s innocuous off-break bowled the left-handed Mohammed behind his back.

Jason Mohammed joined the “Man of the Match” Cush to ensure there will be no hiccups, and Cush finished the game in style, with successive boundaries off national all-rounder Richard Kelly, who bowled some un- practiced off-spin since he was suffering with an injury throughout this tournament.

Cush ended with 57 not out while the out-of-form Jason Mohammed was unbeaten on six.