There finally was play on the third and final day of the West Indies Cricket Board, Under-19 top-of-the-table clash between Guyana and Jamaica at the Georgetown Cricket Club’s Bourda ground yesterday.
But although the sun came out in the early morning and some play was possible during the respective first session, the heavens opened up again in the afternoon and the GCC and DCC grounds which the ground staff’s had battled diligently to get in order, just could not take another downpour.
Thus both of the afternoon sessions of the final day’s play in the second round clashes match at GCC and the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) ground had to be abandoned.
At Bourda, in a game that commenced at 10am, the young Guyanese quickly took the upper hand reducing Jamaica to 86-5 after 30 overs after the Jamaicans had won the toss and elected to bat.
Berbice all-rounder Clinton Pestano dismissed both openers Oshane Walters (0) and John Campbell (16) within the first 30 minutes of play as the Jamaicans stumbled to 20 for 2 in the sixth over.
It should have been 29 for 3 two overs later as the first change introduction of Essequibo left-arm spinner Anthony Adams induced an edge from number four batsman Brian Gayle, only for the usually safe hands of Chanderpaul Hemraj at first slip, to grass the chance.
The Jamaicans eventually brought up their 50 in the 13th over via a lovely straight drive by number three batsman Ramon Senior of the bowling of leg-spinner Amir Khan.
But soon after the landmark was raised, Khan got his man, dismissing Senior stumped attempting a loose drive for 20.
Gayle soon fell afterwards, leg-before wicket playing around a delivery which seemed to be Khan’s arm ball and Chrisna Graham was bowled comprehensively by Adams for 7 attempting a ugly swipe across the line, as the Jamaican’s were wobbling at 62 for 5.
Both the new batsmen Teswayne Creary and Aldaine Thomas got early let-offs as the Guyanese missed the chance to make further inroads into the Jamaican batting order which was struggling to adjust the usual quartet of quality Guyanese spinners.
First, Hemraj dropped Creary at slip of left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie-Kanhai with the score on 64 while Thomas was missed at silly mid-off with the score on 68. The two batsmen took the Jamaicans to 86 for 5 in the 30th over, before rain came and sent the players into an early lunch at 11:52 am.
As the groundsmen tried to get the water of the field, the wicket square was still dry but the areas of the field near the pavilion, party stand, school boy stand and dismantled former Clive Lloyd stand were still noticeably filled with water puddles. So when the respective Guyana and Jamaica captains along with the umpires Nadkumar Shivsankar and Erickson made a detour around the Oval, all parties decided to call the game off at 14: 22 pm to end a frustrating three days for all parties involved.
The Guyana players would have been most disappointing, given that they were potentially on the verge of spinning out the Jamaicans cheaply in the second session.
Over at DCC the Leewards Islands had reached 39 for 1 of 13 overs, before rain stopped play at 11:55 and prevented play for the remainder of the day.
The competition continues tomorrow with three (3) games. Guyana versus Trinidad at Everest. Barbados versus Jamaica at Enmore Community Centre. Windward Islands versus Leeward Island at Bourda.
