A five-wicket haul by debutant Devendra Bishoo (5-29) enabled Guyana to claim first innings points from the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC)team in their 2008 Carib Beer fifth round match at the National Stadium, Providence yesterday.
Scores Guyana 421, CCC 151 and 96-2.
Resuming on their overnight score of 29-0 replying to Guyana’s 421 all out, CCC were bowled out for 151 on the stroke of tea.
Asked to bat a second time, they were 96-2, still needing 174 more runs to make the home team bat again.
Trevon Garraway who took 3-46 started the slide with a double strike in the second over of the day.
He first induced Jason Parris (21) to edge one to Krishna Arjune at third slip as he attempted an expansive drive to a delivery pitched up outside off stump, and then he had new batsman Kirk Wilkinson pushing tentatively forward to his first delivery that was also pitched on off stump to leave the CCC team on 35-2 and Garraway on a hat-trick.
Former West Indies middle order batsman Floyd Reifer avoided the hat-trick by punching the first delivery he faced from Garraway through the point region for three to open his account and drove him exquisitely between cover and extra cover for four in his next over.
Overnight batsman Simon Jackson also took a liking to Garraway when he struck him over midwicket for four and turned him off his pads to fine leg for another boundary realizing his team’s 50 in the process.
It came off 21.1 overs and 97 minutes of batting.
The two continued to bat positively as they set about repairing the damage done by Garraway.
However, skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan had Esaun Crandon switch ends and the end result was that Reifer edged one through to wicketkeeper Derwin Christian as he went for an expansive drive also.
He made 17 from 44 balls hitting two fours during his 68 minutes stay at the wicket whilst adding 36 runs for the third wicket with Jackson.
At lunch, CCC were 78-3 with Jackson on 37 and Nikolai Parris one.
The home team reaped immediate success after the luncheon break when Bishoo had Parris caught by Arjune at first slip without any addition to his or his team’s total.
Jackson followed in his next over when he went back to cut a delivery that was too close to him and succeeded in giving Christian another catch, one of his four for the innings.
Jackson made 38 from 115 deliveries and he struck four fours during his 166-minute vigil at the wicket.
Captain Shirley Clarke entered the fray with his team perched on 78-5 and was unlucky not to be run out at the striker’s end as he hesitated on a single after Sewnarine Chattergoon stationed at a wide mid on, slipped and fumbled whilst fielding the ball which was pushed by Chadwick Walton.
Walton began to fight fire with fire when he struck Zaheer Mohammed over long off for six.
However, Clarke did not hang around long enough to cause the Guyanese any concern as he went via the lbw route to Bishoo after being struck on the pad by a straighter delivery leaving his team precariously placed on 88-6.
It was not long before Bishoo was in the spotlight again, this time it was Kevin Mc Lean who edged to Christian at 94-7.
Walton continued to soldier on and eventually posted his team’s 100 which took 218 minutes and came off 51.2 overs when he struck Mohammed over a wide mid off position for four.
He also struck Bishoo through extra cover for another boundary as he posted 39 runs for the eighth wicket with Gavesh Kantasingh.
He was eventually caught at the wicket off Garraway for 32 made off 77 deliveries whilst hitting two fours and one six in 97 minutes of batting.
Following the dismissal of Walton, the CCC batting began to wilt under the bowling of the diminutive right handed Bishoo who was displaying lots of maturity with a tidy line and length.
Jameel Noel, the hero with the ball for the CCC team after claiming 6-101 when the Guyanese batted, was not given the opportunity to duplicate such efforts with the bat although he did drive Travis Dowlin through point for four.
But Bishoo removed him via the lbw route at 150-9 in the 73rd over to complete his first five wicket haul at this level.
Noel faced 22 deliveries for his 10 striking one four from 27 minutes of batting. It was all over for the CCC team when Mohammed had Kantasingh caught by Chattergoon on the stroke of tea at mid on for 18 which enabled the Guyanese to open their points account for the series.
Crandon (1-23) and Mohammed 1-43 supported the efforts of Bishoo and Garraway.
Trailing by 270 runs and asked to follow on, the CCC opening pair of Jackson and Jason Parris went after the home team bowlers as they posted a quick-fire 47 runs for the first wicket.
Jackson was the more aggressive of the two hitting a rapid-fire 25 decorated with five fours before he offered Bishoo a simple return catch which the bowler gleefully accepted in the 13th over.
He faced 39 balls and batted for 56 minutes.
Nikolai Parris joined his namesake Jason and they continued to soldier on for their team with Jason Parris hitting Mohammed through a wide mid on and then backward of square for successive boundaries in one over, the 18th of the innings.
He, however, in attempting to hit the final delivery of the 19th over from Bishoo, succeeded in picking out Crandon at mid off and departed for 33.
He faced 56 balls and struck five fours whilst batting for 81 minutes.
Reifer joined Nikolai Parris who struck Mohammed exquisitely through point for four. Reifer opened his account just as he did in the first innings, hitting Mohammed through cover and extra cover for three.
The two continued to bat taking little chances against the spin of Bishoo, Mohammed, former West Indies youth captain Leon Johnson and even Chattergoon, to see their team to 96-2 at the close with Reifer on nine and Parris 27. Bishoo has so far taken 2-18 taking his match tally to seven for a mere 47 runs.
Today is the final day and the home team will be hoping for some good weather to facilitate a prompt start in order to give their bowlers enough time to have a go at the remaining eight CCC wickets.
The key to success for the Guyanese who are looking for full points is Bishoo and one can only hope that he can repeat his first innings heroics.
