St. Therese Primary hold nerve to clinch Berbice zone title in Future Warriors Tapeball

St. Therese Primary held their nerve under pressure to clinch the 2026 Berbice Zone title of the ExxonMobil Guyana -powered Future Warriors Tapeball tournament, sealing a 13-run victory over a resilient Tain Primary unit.

The result extended Tain Primary’s sequence of near-misses in the primary schools competition, forcing them to settle for the runner-up spot for a second consecutive year, having previously finished third in the inaugural edition.

Batting first, St. Therese posted a formidable 81 for 6 from their allocation of eight overs. Christiano Ramdeo anchored the top order with a composed 20, while Ghani George provided late impetus with a vital 19.

Despite disciplined spells from Romel Ramdeo (2-11) and Adriel Chichester (2-13), the target demanded an asking rate of over 10 runs per over.

Given Tain Primary’s tournament reputation as the only other side to breach the 80-run barrier, the chase was expected to be a close affair. However, the St. Therese bowling unit executed their plans clinically.

Even though Chichester threatened to break formatting with a brief 16 and Nicholas Bristol contributed an identical 16, Tain were restricted to 68 for 2 as Melroy Grant (1-10) and George (1-14) squeezed the run flow in the middle overs.

Despite the final defeat, Chichester’s tournament aggregate of 62 runs earned him the Most Runs Award.

The individual honours for the zone, however, were dominated by Rose Hall Estate Primary’s Mario Ramsammy. The young bowler claimed the Most Wickets and tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards on the back of an exceptional return of 11 wickets in four matches, coupled with an economy rate of 5.88 and 25 dot balls.

Earlier in the day, Massiah Primary secured a comprehensive 46-run victory over Rose Hall Estate Primary in the third-place playoff.

Massiah raked up 79 for 6, built on Khushan Parmanand’s 17 and an unbeaten 15 from Rishma Ramjass, despite Ramsammy’s excellent 3 for 16. In reply, Rose Hall Estate crumbled to 33 for 5 against disciplined bowling.

The semi-final stage highlighted the explosive nature of this year’s tapeball tournament as in Semi-Final 1, Tain Primary blasted their way to 86 for 2 against Massiah Primary, powered by a scorching 11-ball 34 from Chichester (1×4, 5x6s) and an unbeaten 29 from Romel Ramdeo.

Massiah fought back through Ramjass, who struck a fluent 16-ball 27 (1×4, 3x6s), but Ramdeo’s 3 for 11 ensured Massiah were halted at 66 for 6.

In Semi-Final 2,  St. Therese Primary made short work of a 56-run target against Rose Hall Estate as Keiron DeJonge smashed a brutal unbeaten 27 off just 10 deliveries, littered with three sixes and a four, to guide his side home at 59 for 1 in just 4.5 overs after Rose Hall had been restricted to 55 for 4.

Beyond the silverware, the tournament highlighted an institutional focus on modern cricket metrics. The top four schools each received comprehensive equipment bags, agility kits, and electronic scoring tablets.

The integration of tablets is designed to introduce young players to the digital mechanics of online match scoring, bridging the gap between recreational play and data analysis. All 16 participating schools also left with baseline fitness equipment.

With this victory, the New Amsterdam-based St. Therese Primary joins Demerara champions West Ruimveldt in the national postseason lineup.

The spotlight now shifts to the Essequibo Zone, scheduled for June 20-21 at the Anna Regina National Stadium.

The regional champions will progress to the Champion of Champions tournament later this year, in August or September.

The ultimate winner of that national phase will earn a novelty fixture against the Guyana Amazon Warriors.

The post St. Therese Primary hold nerve to clinch Berbice zone title in Future Warriors Tapeball appeared first on News Room Guyana.