From Calvin Roberts
@ Lester Vaughn Secondary School,
Cane Garden, St. Thomas
Compliments of Smalta, Cum-mings Electrical, Life-time Realty, P&P Insurance, Cellular Plus and Hanes (Guyana) Limited
Trinidad and Tobago were 22-0 in reply to defending champions Guyana’s 227 all out at the end of the first day’s play of their final round encounter in the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB)/TCL-sponsored 2008 regional under-19 tournament at the Lester Vaughn Secondary School ground, Cane Garden, St. Thomas yesterday.
Guyana, asked to take first strike on a good batting pitch with a fast outfield, were led by Trevon Griffith’s 48, Anthony Bramble’s 41, Dillon Heyliger’s 36 and skipper Eugene La Fleur’s 30 before being dismissed 10 minutes before the scheduled close of play.
At the close Adrian Barath was not out on 12 and Evin Lewis not out on eight from the four overs they faced.
The Guyanese openers, Griffith and Royan Fredricks, posted 43 runs for the first wicket inside the first hour of play with the former setting the trail when he flicked fast bowler Hakeem Mitchell off his legs and followed that up with front foot drive all along the ground for successive boundaries in the second over.
Fredericks joined the run scoring party by driving Mitchell for four to push the score to 23 without loss at the end of the fourth over.
Griffith was then given the first of his three lives when Aaron Alfred, who was stationed at forward short leg, failed to hold onto a soft flick that was airborne off the bowling of Sheldon Dogan at the end of the fifth over.
Griffith then rubbed salt into the wound by hitting the bowler all along the ground for four to push the score to 27-0 off the very next delivery .
Two were separated when Fredericks went tentatively forward to a delivery from off-spinner Omeshwar Ramoutar and was caught by wicket-keeper Rickson Maniram for 14.
He faced 40 balls and struck two fours whilst batting for 58 minutes, and at the end of the first hour’s play, Guyana were 43-1. Griffith was then given another life by Lewis who grassed an easy chance at cover off medium fast bowler Akeil Cooper.
He and Seon Hetmyer, took the score to 83-1 from 31 overs at lunch with Griffith on 36 (6×4) and Hetmyer 27 (2×4).
After lunch Hetmyer was bowled by Dogan going for an expansive drive in the first over. He failed to add to his pre-lunch time score of 27 whilst facing 56 balls and hitting two fours in 66 minutes.
Dillon Heyliger joined Griffith and they set about stabilizing the innings with some positive stroke play that was backed up by some positive running between the wickets.
In between, Heyliger pulled Ramoutar through midwicket for four to push the score to 95-2 and the 100 was posted following an extra cover drive from Heyliger off the bowling of Dogan that sped away for four in the 38th over of the innings.
Griffith inched his way to his second half century at this level with an audacious straight drive off Dogan that sped away to the long on boundary, but was given another life, this time by the Trinidadian captain Barath at second slip who grassed the opportunity. Guyana were 109-2.
Barath redeemed himself by catching Griffith at leg slip as he attempted a sweep shot off the bowling of Ramoutar for 48 at 110.
He faced 119 deliveries and struck seven fours in 158 minutes. Jonathan Foo made 13 before he was caught by wicketkeeper Maniram down the leg side as he attempted to hook a short delivery from Hakeem Mitchell.
La Fleur, whose defiant innings of 85 against Jamaica helped salvage a draw for his team in the penultimate round, joined Heyliger who was on 22 at Foo’s dismissal and came off the mark by steering Mitchell pass the slip cordon to third man for four but lost Heyliger when the batsman was caught behind off Ottley for 36.
He had struck Trinidad’s Under-17 captain and one of six replacements in the squad Yannick Ottley over long on for six and added four fours from the 73 balls he faced whilst batting for 98 minutes and his dismissal at 150-5 left the innings at the crossroads. Trinidad seemed to have the better of the post lunch session which ended with Guyana on 155-5 after losing four wickets for 72 runs in the period.
After tea, La Fleur struck Keon Ottley through a wide extra cover for four, but lost Royston Alkins, who came in for the injured Jeetendra Sookdeo, who was run out for one attempting a single after turning the ball to backward square at 163-6.
Wicket keeper Anthony Bramble joined La Fleur and opened his account by steering Dogan past the slip cordon for four. He then drove Dogan through extra cover for another boundary. La Fleur then drove Ramoutar through the covers for another boundary but then gave his wicket away when he lazily attempted to run a ball down to third man and found the waiting hands of Barath at first slip.
He made 30 from 62 balls hitting five of them for boundaries whilst batting for 102 minutes.
At his dismissal in the 73rd over, Guyana were 201-7 with Bramble on 20. Bramble continued his approach of mixing aggression with sound defence and dispatched Mitchell disdainfully through the midwicket region for four before some brief showers forced the players off the field at five minutes past four with the score 205-7 with Bramble on 24 and new batsman Herman Latcha yet to score. The innings quickly folded with the score on 227 following the loss of Latcha who was caught at the wicket off Yannick Ottley (3-24) for five while Keon Joseph was caught by Barath at first slip without scoring two balls later off the same bowler. Bramble was eventually caught by Ramoutar (2-39) at long on off Kjorn Ottley (2-37) for 41. The brothers Yannick Ottley (3-24) and Kjorn Ottley (2-37) along with Ramoutar 2-39 did the damage with the ball for Trinidad.
