Guyana Jaguars yesterday completed a resounding innings and 81 runs victory over the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force on the final day of the Cricket West Indies (CWI) regional four-day first-class season at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.
That triumph pushed the titleholders to their seventh victory this season to go along with two drawn encounters and a tie with the Windward Islands.
The final day began with Red Force resuming on 282-8, needing an unlikely 123 to make the Jaguars bat again and the Jaguars needing just the two wickets to record an innings win.
Jason Mohammed started the day on 92 and with Brian Charles, who walked out with him after Daniel St Clair fell during the final over of the penultimate day duly completed his seventh first-class century.
After failing to score in the first innings, Mohammed brought up his ton by pushing a delivery from Veerasammy Permaul back over his head for four which followed an elegant push through the cover region to register his landmark.
After a few more boundaries were struck Permaul bowled Charles for 15 to claim his 50th wicket of the season while Keemo Paul uprooted the stumps of Anderson Phillip (11) to end Red Force’s innings on 324.
Mohammed ended unbeaten on 103 from 200 deliveries and the knock included 16 fours.
Permaul, who will be announced as the league’s leading wicket-taker this season (50 wickets), ended with 3 – 73 while Paul, who is in contention for the leading all-rounder prize, bagged 3 – 118.
Sherfane Rutherford, 2-21 and Gudakesh Motie’s 2 – 73 rounded out a collective bowling performance by the four-time champions.
The Huyana Jaguars team saw a number of players putting their hands up during the season which contributed to their fourth successive title.
Opener Chandrapaul Hemraj topped the Jaguars’ batting chart after compiling 623 runs without registering a century, his highest score being 90.
Wicketkeeper Antony Bramble was second with 613 runs which included his maiden first-class century – a career-defining unbeaten 196 against Leeward Islands Hurricanes.
Vishaul Singh (539), skipper Leon Johnson (475) and Tagenarine Chanderpaul (459) rounded out the batsmen with four hundred runs and more this season.
It is worth mentioning the efforts of Chanderpaul, Paul and Raymon Reifer, who registered their maiden first-class century this season while Hemraj (90) and Sherfane Rutherford (93) missed out on theirs.
Jaguars, in the bowling department, were led by Permaul (50), Paul (42), Rutherford (22) and Motie (21) as the bowlers with 20 scalps more this season.
Those numbers reflected an exceptional all-round year for Rutherford and Paul, who also scored 343 and 260 runs, respectively.
Bramble was once again the top wicketkeeper this season with 45 dismissals.
