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Guyana, led by Sewnarine Chattergoon’s third regional first class hundred (130) reached 267-4 at close of the first day’s play of their first round match of the 2008 Carib Beer Cricket Series against Trinidad and Tobago at the Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad, yesterday.
Captain Ramnaresh Sarwan was unbeaten on 63 (136 balls; 172 minutes; 8x4s) and Assad Fudadin, who survived a tense period from the left-arm chinaman bowler, Dave Mohammed, not out on four from 25 balls.
Guyana won the toss and batted on a wicket which offered bounce during the first hour of play but got flat as the day went by.
They were off to a solid start as openers Chattergoon and Travis Dowlin flayed anything wide and loose in posting 36 for the first wicket.
Although Dowlin was the more sedate partner, he struck Ravi Rampaul’s third ball of the third over through point for four.
Chattergoon also joined in the fray hitting Rampaul for two boundaries through backward and forward square respectively in one over.
The 30-year-old Dowlin, who has an average of 28.20 prior to this game, then struck loose deliveries from Rampaul through extra cover for successive boundaries at the start of the ninth over to push the score to 35 without loss.
After being fortunate not to be run out by Lendl Simmons at the end of the ninth over as he went for a cheeky single to mid on, Dowlin then lost his leg stump to Kelly who got one to swing back in from outside off to leave the Guyanese on 36-1.
Dowlin made 18 from 40 minutes, with four boundaries from the 38 balls he faced.
Former Guyana and West Indies under-19 captain Leon Johnson, joined forces with Chattergoon and with sensible batting and running between the wickets survived a testing spell from Amit Jaggernauth and Trinidad skipper Rayad Emrit.
Chattergoon brought up the team’s 50 with a push through extra cover off Kelly, having struck the previous delivery exquisitely through the same area for four.
The 50 came off 14.5 overs in some 68 minutes of batting.
Johnson then showed the sprinkling of spectators on hand that he was no rabbit with the bat, when he drove Emrit through the extra cover region for four while Chattergoon, not to be outdone, punched Jaggernauth’s final delivery of his first over magnificently through point for four beating a diving Dave Mohammed in the process to take the score to 67-1.
Johnson took the attack to the Trinidad bowlers with another pugnacious drive through point off the bowling of Emrit but survived a caught and bowled chance to Jaggernauth when on 18 and the total 80.
At lunch Guyana were 86-1 with Chattergoonon not out 41 and Johnson not out on 23.
The post lunch session saw both batsmen continuing from where they left off, with Johnson slog sweeping Jaggernauth through midwicket for four and Chattergoon hitting Mohammed’s first and final deliveries of the following over through point for boundaries.
The latter shot carried Chattergoon’s score to 50 and also brought up the team’s 100.
The 26-year-old Chattergoon, with an average of 33.53 coming into this match, posted his 50 off 85 balls, decorated with six fours from 125 minutes of batting, whilst the Guyana 100 came off 32 overs.
The batsmen rode their luck. Rampaul watched as a diving Kieron Pollard failed to hold onto a chance offered by Johnson when he was on 28 while Chattergoon also got a thick outside edge that flew through a vacant third slip position for four also off the hapless Rampaul.
But the luck was not to last. Guyana lost Johnson (43) via the lbw route to Jaggernauth who was causing some problems to the left handers as he got the ball to turn out of the rough.
He faced 101 balls and batted for 116 minutes hitting seven fours in a partnership with Chattergoon that was worth 89 runs for the second wicket.
New batsman Narsingh Deonarine did not last long as he was then caught by Pollard who had to run around from mid off and then flung himself to his right to pull off a brilliant one handed catch at extra cover, without scoring from the first delivery he faced.
Sarwan entered the fray and the skipper did not disappoint although the rains did.
Play was stopped at 1.26pm as the clouds opened up shortly after and stopped play with Guyana on 130-3 with Chattergoon on 62 and Sarwan 2.
On the resumption after play was interrupted for 54 minutes, the Guyanese batsmen continued their battle against the pace/spin attack employed by the hosts who tried six bowlers in an attempt to dislodge the Guyanese batsmen.
Sarwan, was looking for a long stay at the wicket having not played a game since last year’s KFC One-Day competition, square drove Emrit through cover and point for successive boundaries, posting the 150 for his team in the process.
It came off 47.2 overs and took 187 minutes and when tea was taken Guyana were 169-3 off 55 overs with Chattergoon on 82 and Sarwan 19.
Chattergoon wasted little time in getting his 100 upon resumption, the first for this year’s tournament.
First he struck Pollard disdained fully over midwicket for four, and when the bowler served up another short one two deliveries later, he simply stood up and dispatched it over mid on for another boundary to race into the 90s.
With Chattergoon going great guns, Sarwan dropped anchor although he occasionally chipped in with some delightful shots of his own including a magnificent front foot drive through cover off Kelly that sped away to the boundary before the bowler could have completed his follow through.
Chattergoon then got to his century, his third at this level with a pull through midwicket for one having struck the previous delivery disdainfully to the boundary in the same area off Pollard.
He took 245 minutes, faced 184 balls and struck 14 fours for his 100.The Guyana 200 was then posted also from 62 overs and 249 minutes of batting shortly after when Sarwan struck Mohammed who had replaced Pollard from the Queen’s Park Cricket Club end for two through cover.
Guyanese players and supporters saw the 250 posted from 78.1 overs in 307 minutes of batting when Chattergoon turned Jaggernauth through midwicket for two.
Sarwan then brought up his 50 in the same over off 105 balls hitting six fours and batting for 146 minutes.
Chattergoon then lost his wicket from the first ball of the next over caught by former West Indies captain and double world record holder Brian Lara at leg slip sweeping at a delivery from Mohammed. He made 130 from 237 balls, hitting 16 fours during his 310 minutes sojourn at the wicket posting 126 for the fourth wicket with Sarwan from 236 balls and 149 minutes of batting in the process.
