Defending champions Guyana scored an easy nine-wicket win over Bermuda who were held to a record low score to complete the quarterfinal line-up at the 2008 Stanford Twenty20 tournament when they met at the Stanford Cricket Ground in Antigua on Sunday.
Chasing a moderate 63 to win after Bermuda were restricted to a tournament record low of 62 for nine, Guyana achieved their target for the loss of Travis Dowlin, who was caught behind by wicketkeeper Ricardo Brangman off Traddie Simpson (1-21) with the score on 10.
Bermuda’s total was the lowest ever in the brief history of the tournament eclipsing the 67 made by the Turks and Caicos against Montserrat in 2006.
Chattergoon and Sarwan batted slowly following the dismissal of Dowlin as Guyana crawled to 17 off five overs. But after seeing off left-arm spinner Dwayne Leverock, who was spot on from the northern end, and Simpson, runs came freely as they approached the target.
It all started in the sixth over, which saw Simpson, who was economical in his first two overs, going for 14 runs – included an extra cover six by Sarwan, who took nine deliveries to get off the mark.
Chattergoon also picked up five runs from the over, which turned out to be the game’s most expensive.
Unlike Leverock and Simpson, at least before his third over, Ryan Steede and Irving Romaine were more expensive, which made it easier for Guyana, though Sarwan was put down twice during this period.
Earlier, Bermuda, despite only losing James Celestine (five), who was caught off Christopher Barnwell in the fourth over, managed 40 runs in eight overs.
David Hemp, the most experienced in terms of first class cricket, having played a total of 253 matches for Free State, Glamorgan, and Warwickshire respectively, played a couple of fine strokes before he was caught behind, cutting at a rising delivery from pacer Barnwell.
Hemp put on 20 for the first wicket with Celestine and added 27 for the second with Garvin Aparicio (three), after whose dismissal, leg before to Lennox Cush at 47 for three, Bermuda lost six wickets for 19 runs.
During the space of 15 runs, Cush also added Ricardo Brangman and Ryan Steede, both caught without scoring while Neil Mc Garrell had captain Irving Romaine and Lionel Cann, both caught and bowled at 52 for six.
Mahendra Nagamootoo chipped in with two wickets, including the tournament’s most noticeable one, Leverock (1), who received a small standing ovation from the over 5,000 spectators on his way to the middle.
Cush (3-9), Neil Mc Garrell (2-6), Nagamootoo (2-4) and Barnwell (2-19) led the route for the defending champions.
After the game, Bermuda’s skipper Romaine said they “were relying on their top four” but once they departed it was all over, because they knew the other guys were inexperienced. However, he said “it was an experience for them and promised a better performance next year.”
With the win, Guyana joins Jamaica, Antigua & Barbuda, Trinidad & Tobago, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Barbados and Nevis in the final eight. The tournament resumes on Wednesday with Trinidad against St. Vincent.
