Kemo Paul is Leewards bane as Guyana scrapes a draw

Kevin Paul in full defence against Jeremiah Louis.

Kemo Paul and Kemol Savoury’s seventh-wicket stand secured a draw for Guyana against the Leeward Islands as the visitors were yesterday denied a chance at an outright victory on the final day of the opening round of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional Under-19 tournament.

Paul’s responsible innings of 90 was enough to give the locals a draw in their opening match of the tournament at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence. He received valuable support from wicket keeper/batsman Savoury who made a fighting 36 to aid Guyana’s recovery.

The importance of the partnership was made clear when the hosts lost their remaining wickets for just two runs after Paul’s dismissal. Before the partnership, Guyana was struggling to save the match at 106-8.

Earlier, resuming on its overnight score of 300-8, Leewards reached 342 all out in 126.1 overs, a lead of 72. Colin Archibald (1) was removed early in the day’s play by Sharaz Ramcharran without adding to his overnight score while his partner, skipper Jeremiah Louis scored 72 runs. Louis, who began the day on 49, batted well to give his team a