Perfect three for Jamaica
published:
Monday | January 21, 2008
Tony Becker, Contributing Editor
Jamaica upped the ante in their bid to win the regional Carib Beer Cup when they defeated Guyana at Sabina Park yesterday and in the process ticked off victory number three out of three.
Set a victory target of 109 in 37 overs plus one full day's play, Jamaica, powered by Xavier Marshall and Wavell Hinds, raced to victory by a commanding eight wickets, and, as it was against the Leeward Islands, who lost by five wickets, and the Combined Campuses and Colleges, who lost by 10 wickets, with a day to spare.
Final score: Guyana 171 and 177, Jamaica 240 and 109 for two off 24.4 overs with Marshall not out on 48 with four sixes and two fours off 63 deliveries, and Hinds not out on 50 with four sixes and three fours off 55 deliveries.
In winning the match, Jamaica are now sitting pretty on a perfect 36 points from three matches, and with three matches to come after a month's break to facilitate the Stanford Twenty20 and its US one million dollar first prize, are in the lead in the race for the glittering trophy and the first prize cash award of US$12,500.
In losing the match, Guyana, who lost their first two matches to Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, are on zero points after three matches.
After trailing by 69 runs on first innings, after resuming yesterday morning on 59 for one off 27 overs, Guyana were cornered by left-arm spinner Nikita Miller, and with medium-pacer David Bernard Jnr. chipping in with the prized scalp of Ramnaresh Sarwan, with fast bowler Andrew Richardson on the field but not called upon to bowl, they were knocked flat by right-arm leg-spinner Odean Brown and fast bowler Jermaine Lawson.
Attack
Opening the attack from the north, Miller, operating from over the wicket and into the rough, bowled for three hours non-stop while picking up one wicket for 25 runs off 21 overs, Lawson, running in from the south at the start and then from the north after replacing a tired Miller 60 minutes after lunch, collected two for 42 off 11.4 overs for his day's work, Bernard replacing Lawson from the south, collected one for 21 off eight overs for his efforts, and Brown, taking over from Bernard at the southern end, pocketed three for 29 off 10 overs.
With two of their batsmen falling by the run-out route, the only Guyana batsmen to survive the spin of Miller and Brown and the pace of Lawson was Leon Johnson - the 20-year-old left-hander who joined the action at nine for one on the previous afternoon and was ninth out at 171 after posting a career-best 73.
In an innings which lasted for 313 minutes during which he faced 215 deliveries, Johnson stroked eight boundaries before, with time, and batsmen, running out on him, he went at Lawson and was caught by Xavier Marshall at long.
With Johnson and Assad Fudadin, 25 overnight, batting solidly, Guyana went through the first hour without any casualties and looked set to enjoy a morning session without any when, out of the blue, they lost one when Johnson played Lawson into the covers, the batsmen raced away for a single, and Brown coming in quickly, hit the stumps at the wicketkeeper's end to get rid of Fudadin for 31 in the 37th over.
That was 79 for two, and it was 108 for five with Deonarine, Sarwan, and Travis Dowlin coming and going one behind the other.
An over or two after his splendid drive off Lawson, Deonarine, probably frustrated after being tied down by Miller's accuracy, swung wildy at the spinner and the ball, after going high towards the sky, settled into Donovan Pagon's hands at cover.
That was 96 for three, and two deliveries later, without addition to the score, it was 96 for four when captain Sarwan, shuffling across his wicket, was trapped leg before wicket for zero by a delivery from Bernard which cut back off the seam.
Dowlin, the last of the recognised batsmen, drove Bernard delightfully to the extra-cover boundary before he played forward to Miller, and with the ball rolling towards backward point, took off for a single.
Quick movement
Brown moved quickly, however, and Johnson sent back Dowlin, who, unfortunately, failed to beat Brown's to wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh Jr.
That was 108 for five, and with Brown beating Derwin Christian with a well pitched leg-spinner and forcing the right-hander to edge to Baugh, with the left-handed Esuan Crandon driving the following delivery to captain Tamar Lambert at extra-cover, it was 133 for seven with everything then resting on the shoulders of Johnson.
Left a winning target of 109 with 37 overs to go to the end of the day's play, Jamaica, once again, for the third time in six innings, started badly before settling down and strolling to victory.
In the seventh over of the innings, Pagon, on four, drove Crandon to Dowlin at mid-off and walked away at 10 for one, and in the eighth over, Lambert, on one, went back and across to Trevon Garraway, was beaten for pace, and edged a catch to wicketkeeper Christian.
With the fans wondering what was happening, however, Hinds joined Marshall, and after taking a good look at the bowling, with Hinds smashing three sixes and Marshall two in three overs, plus one by Hinds and two by Marshall later on, including the one that sealed the issue, the pair of West Indies batsmen blasted Jamaica to victory with an unbroken partnership of 98 off 13 overs.
AT PHILLIPSBURG: Not a ball was bowled in the match between Leeward Islands and Trinidad & Tobago yesterday.
T&T were set to continue from their bedtime total of 178 for four in their first innings on the third day in the third round match being contested at Carib Lumber Park.
Umpires Luther Kelly and Goaland Greaves abandoned play for the day midway through the scheduled final period after the final of several inspections of the soggy outfield.
GUYANA 1st Innings 171
JAMAICA 1st Innings
GUYANA 2nd Innings
(overnight 59 for 1)
A. Fudadin run out (Brown)
31
G. Singh lbw b Lawson
2
L. Johnson c Marshall b Lawson
73
N Deanadine c Pagon b Miller
14
R. Sarwan lbw b Bernard
0
T. Dowlin run out (Brown)
10
+D. Christina c wkpr Baugh b Brown
13
E. Crandon c Lambert b Brown
0
Z. Mohammed st Baugh b Brown
21
V. Permaul b Lawson
0
T. Garaway not out
1
Extras (lb1, w1, nb10)
12
TOTAL (all out) 177
Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-79, 3-96, 4-99, 5-108, 6-133, 7-133, 8-171, 9-176.
Bowling: Lawson 17.4-1-61-3, Richardson 4-0-16-0, Bernard 13-2-33-1, Miller 25-12-29-1, Brown 16-4-35-3, Lambert 2-1-2-0
