Defending champions Guyana ended their preliminary round of the West Indies Cricket Board T20 tournament with a nail-biting defeat to the Windward Islands at the Kensington Oval in Barbados late last night.
Needing four runs off the last ball to secure their third close victory in as many matches hero of the previous game Derwin Christian could not repeat the feat and was run out attempting a second run.
The win kept the Guyanese on eight points and boosted the chances of the Windwards to advance to the semi-finals.
They will play Jamaica in their final game of the group.
Chasing the Windwards 138-8 off their allotted 20 overs Guyana slipped to 19-3 after 4.1 overs with Travis Dowlin (one), Esaun Crandon (six) and Richard Ramdeen (10) all back in the pavilion.
Skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan had a slice of luck when he played a ball onto his stumps but failed to dislodge the bails but did not make use of the reprieve falling to a catch at the wicket by Linden James off Mervyn Matthew as he tried to cut a ball that was too close to him.
Guyana were at that stage 36-4 from 7.2 overs.
Steven Jacobs rallied the team’s batting along with Royston Crandon who fell for 16 at 78-5 in the 14th over.
Jacobs eventually went for the top score of 36 bowled by Man of the Match Nelon Pascal who picked up three key wickets.
Later in the innings Christopher Barnwell threatened to give Guyana another unlikely win but he fell off the last ball of Pascal’s final over caught by Darren Sammy for 31.
Guyana needed 16 runs off the final over but Christian and Bishoo were simply not up to it this time.
Earlier, Guyana won the toss and decided to bowl.
The Windwards openers were quickly out of the blocks racing to 27 before Johnson Charles fell to a catch by Sarwan off Royston Crandon who was the best Guyana bowler on display.
Crandon soon removed Devon Smith for three but dropped a tough chance from Andre Fletcher when the batsman was on 15.
Fletcher and Lesporis Mathurin then took the score to 88 when Mathurin was caught by Dowlin on the long on boundary for 26.
Fletcher was eventually stumped by Christian off Bishoo for the top score of 40 but Sammy weighed in with 26 before he was run out in the final over.
