By Marlon Munroe
Reserve player Gajanand Singh completed his century on the final morning of the second trial match which ended in a draw after the match was called off at tea yesterday at the Georgetown Cricket Club ground yesterday.
Singh, playing for the Invitational XI, resumed on his overnight score of 79 and reached three figures from 125 balls. However, he was bowled for 134 (19×4) from 194 balls playing back to leg spinner Devendra Bishoo, who was the pick of the bowlers for the National XI with 3-51. His partner Leon Johnson added 12 more runs to his overnight score before he was dismissed for 64 which included seven fours and two sixes from 137 balls.
Johnson’s dismissal ended a 179-run partnership with Singh before the National XI dismissed their opponents for 319 from 80.5 overs.
The Invitational XI’s next highest run scorer was Deon Ferrier with 40 that consisted of three fours and a six from 69 balls.
When the National XI batted a second time they increased the lead of 125 runs to 186 closing on 61-3 from 13 overs. Royston Crandon, opening the batting, was bowled by pacer Trevon Garraway, who was on song yesterday, off the first ball of the innings.
The Essequibian struck again to remove the older Crandon sibling Esaun for 11. Opening batsman Vishal Singh for the second time in the match looked ragged before he was dismissed by part-time medium pacer Shemroy Barrington for 16 in the last hour of play.
The twins of spin Bishoo (13) and Veerasammy Permaul (22) brought some semblance of respectability back to the game with an enterprising fourth wicket stand of 30 before the tea interval. Both Permaul (3×4) and Bishoo (2×4) played two exquisite off side drives off Garraway and Barnwell respectively during their partnership.
Earlier, in the morning Gajanand Singh had a more positive approach to his game. He ran well between the wickets as he and Johnson seemed poised to comfortably overhaul the national side’s total. But Permaul (2-45 from 16.5 overs) had Johnson caught to end the partnership which prompted a middle order collapse before Ferrier and Singh pieced the innings back together.
However, after the dismissal of the two the lower order batsmen were no match for Guyana’s leading spinners.
Permaul and Bishoo shared five wickets between them while the older Crandon brother Esaun and fiery, but expensive, Brandon Bess ended with 2-52 (12) and 2-72 (13) respectively.
Off-spinner Narsingh Deonarine accounted for the last wicket to finish with 1-63 (17).