-Dowlin hits resilient half century

Skipper Rawl Lewis (5-39) and fast bowler Nelon Pascal (4-62), blew the Guyana batting to pieces while guiding their team to a 151-run victory in their eighth-round West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional four-day match at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence yesterday.

Resuming the day on 24 without loss in the hunt for 311 to complete an outright victory and their first of the season, the Guyanese who are without a four-day first class title since 2005 were bowled out for 159, inside the post-tea session.

Scores in the match: Windward Islands 215 and 375-9 declared; and  Guyana 280 and 159

Skipper Travis Dowlin with a resilient 55, Sewnarine Chattergoon, 22, Narsingh Deonarine, 21, and Christopher Barnwell with 16 were the  batsmen to reach double figures.

Chattergoon got things rolling for the Guyanese when he struck the final delivery of Pascal’s first over of the day elegantly through the cover point region for four while  Barnwell also struck the same bowler through mid on for another boundary.

But the visitors had the last laugh when both Chattergoon and Barnwell were dismissed within two balls of each other to Pascal, with Barnwell being caught by Hector at cover while Chattergoon pulled a short delivery straight to Keddy Lesporis at fine leg.

Leon Johnson (05) struck Pascal who was bowling with aggression and extracting lots of bounce on a flat wicket back past him for four before he too was caught by Hector at cover driving uppishly to a delivery pitched on the off stump leaving Guyana on 47-3 five overs after Chattergoon’s dismissal.

On one occasion, Dowlin, who was forced to weather a series of short balls from the fiery 22-year-old Pascal retaliated with a straight drive off the same bowler, followed by another through the covers off Butler and, after the first hour’s play, Guyana were 60-3.

Spin in the form of Shane Shillingford was introduced on the resumption  which saw Deonarine hitting the third delivery over wide mid wicket for six, followed by a four to third man.

At the other end, Dowling struck Darren Sammy through cover point for four, followed by another boundary over mid on off Shillingford.

The two added exactly 50 runs for the fourth wicket before Deonarine pulled a short ball from Sammy straight to Hector at midwicket 10 minutes before the lunch break which was taken with Guyana perched on 97-4 with Dowlin on 29 and Royston Crandon yet to score.

It was downhill for Guyana after the break as Lewis, who only bowled three overs in the Guyanese first innings took control for his team with his steady leg spin bowling.

The Guyana 100 was posted when Crandon struck Pascal through the covers for four, which also opened his account, before Lewis removed him and wicketkeeper Darwin Christian who fell for his sixth duck of the season, with the score at 112.

Devendra Bishoo hung around to see Dowlin reach his 18th first class half century before he was caught by Hector at short leg off Lewis, followed by Esaun Crandon who was given a life by Hector also off Lewis before he hit the same bowler back over his head for a maximum.

But he attempted a wild shot at a Pascal delivery and lost his leg stump  while Dowlin’s long vigil ended when he was caught by Sammy at first slip as he pushed tentatively forward to a Lewis delivery and when Veerasammy Permaul (07) holed out to Shillingford at mid on at 14:13hrs it was all over for the home team who had grabbed first innings points from their opponents.

Trevon Garraway was yet to open his account when the Guyanese suffered their fifth defeat of the season and second to the same opponents who had defeated them by an innings and 147 runs in their first round encounter.

Pascal was named Man-of-the-Match by adjudicator and match referee Omar Bacchus.