THE Daren Sammy Cricket Ground will host Guyana and Windward Islands Volcanoes in the WICB Professional Cricket League Regional 4-Day Tournament 2017-18, which bowls off on Thursday, November 2.
The Guyana team arrived yesterday morning following their 263-run win over Jamaica.
Cricket fans can expect to see outstanding performances from players from both teams. Guyana’s Veerasammy Permaul will lead the defending champions’ bowling attack. He is the leading wicket-taker thus far, picking up 10 wickets for 84 runs at an average of 8.40 against Jamaica.
Leading their charge in the batting will be ChandrapaulHemraj, who had scores of 60 and 33; Anthony Bramble 62 and 26; Sherfane Rutherford 45 and 16 not out; Leon Johnson (captain) 20 and 50; and Keemo Paul 12 and 107.
For the Windward Islands, despite the drawn game against the Leeward Islands, experienced opening batsman Devon Smith will look to continue his good run on form. Smith had scores of and 16 and 185 not out and is the highest run-scorer thus far with 201. Also, top order batman and youth player Roland Cato had scores of 90 and 18; Kirt Edward 35 and 64; and Kavem Hodge 41 and 56 not out.
Meanwhile, in the first round of matches which concluded on Sunday, Guyana began their defence of the Regional 4-Day title with a 263-run win over Jamaica, set up by VeerasammyPermaul’s match-haul of ten wickets, and a lower-order century from Keemo Paul.
Permaul’s 6 for 29 in 19.5 overs skittled Jamaica out for 99 in the first innings, giving Guyana a 167-run lead. Seventy runs in Jamaica’s innings came from just two batsmen — Assad Fudadin (39) and captain Paul Palmer (31) — as they were bowled out in a little over 50 overs. Guyana had earlier posted 266, with half-centuries from wicketkeeper Anthony Bramble (62) and No. 3 ChandrapaulHemraj (60) anchoring them.
Scores in the match: Guyana 266 (Anthony Bramble 62, Green 4 for 63) and 315 for 8 declared (Keemo Paul 107, Bulli 5 for 104) beat Jamaica 99 (Assad Fudadin 39, VeerasammyPermaul 6 for 29) and 219 (Morrison 68, VeerasammyPermaul 4 for 55) by 263 runs.
Leeward Islands walked away with the majority of points in their drawn game against Windward Islands after taking a big first-innings lead. Set a fourth-innings target of 222, Leeward then played out the draw, but not before they had lost six wickets for 112.
Electing to bat first, Windward Islands found themselves in a good position in the first innings, with Roland Cato (90) and Kavem Hodge (41) guiding the team to 213 for 3. However, they went on to lose seven wickets for 20 runs to be dismissed for 233. Seamers Jeremiah Louis and Mervin Matthew took seven wickets between them.
Leeward openers Chesney Hughes (89) and Keacy Carty (74) then set about putting together a strong platform for the side with a 149-run opening partnership. Despite a slump, Nkrumah Bonner’s 69 helped Leeward past 300 and they ended with a 110-run first-innings lead.
Windward’s response in the second innings was much stronger. Devon Smith scored a quick 185 and Hodge struck a rapid fifty as the side looked to push for a result with a declaration of 331 for 3 that left Leeward with a target of 222. Liam Sebastien, Audley Alexander and Shane Shillingford then all picked up two wickets each as Leeward reached 112 for 6 by stumps.
Scores in the match: Windward Islands 233 (Roland Cato 90, Jeremiah Louis 4 for 36) and 331 for 3 declared (Devon Smith 185 not out, Kirt Edwards 64) drew with Leeward Islands 343 (Chesney Hughes 89, Jeremiah Lewis 3 for 51) and 112 for 6 (Keacy Carty 48, Shane Shillingford 2 for 41).
Danish Ramdin struck a hundred and an unbeaten fifty as Trinidad and Tobago began their first-class season with a draw against Barbados.
Ramdin’s 160-ball 101 had anchored Trinidad and Tobago to a first-innings score of 300, seeing them through wicket bursts from left-arm spinner JomelWarrican and seamer Justin Greaves. Warrican and Greaves ended with identical returns of 4 for 67, even as the Trinidad and Tobago lower order did not put up much of a resistance.
Barbados eked out a ten-run first-innings lead, their score of 310 underpinned by fifties from Jonathan Carter (85) and Anthony Alleyne (84). Apart from the pair, no other Barbados batsman had a significant contribution to the innings, with the wickets spread between Daniel St. Clair, Bryan Charles, Imran Khan and Tion Webster.
Scores in the match: Trinidad and Tobago 300 (Denesh Ramdin 101, Jomel Warrican 4 for 67, Justin Greaves 4 for 67) and 257 for 5 declared (Amir Jangoo 63, DeneshRamdin 56 not out) drew with Barbados 310 for 9 declared (Jonathan Carter 85, Imran Khan 3 for 68) and 117 for 4 (Aaron Jones 52 not out, Primus 2 for 9).