By Ravendra Madholall

Berbice captured the 2018 ‘Dassy’ 20-over softball four-team inter-county one-day competition trophy after beating perennial rivals Demerara by 30 runs last Saturday at Keele Top ground in  Toronto.
Berbice batted first after winning the toss and reached a challenging 106 all out in 16.3 overs while Demerara were skittled out for 76 in the penultimate over.
Only Ian Baldeo with 14 for the runners-up side offered any resistance as Andy Persaud snatched four wickets for 14 runs from his four overs and was supported by Riaz Kadir who grabbed two for 16 off three overs.
Earlier, Berbice, led by former Guyana skipper Damodar Daesrath, struggled for runs as they lost wickets at regular intervals. However, the experienced Yadram Bogh played responsibly to score 28, laced with three sixes.Captain Troy Gobin, a  former Guyana youth batsman, finished with two wickets for 12 runs off his three overs.
Persaud was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP).
In the preceding two semi-final matches, Berbice beat Essequibo by 18 runs while Demerara got the better of Defending champions Canadian All-Stars by four wickets.
Berbice 158-7 off 20-overs: Farouk Hussien 40 and Daesrath 28.
Essequibo, in reply, 142-8 off 20-overs: Narindra Mandolall 61 not out; Andy Persaud 3-15 (3).
Canadian All-Stars 117-7 off 20-overs: Rabindra Diaram 28 and Anil Samuel 24; Ramo Malone 3-18 (4) and Troy Gobin 3-31 (4). In reply, Demerara 118-6 off 19-overs: Surajpaul Deosaran 37; Diaram 2-10 (4).