Narsingh Deonarine yesterday converted his overnight half-century into a scintillating century which ensured the Guyana Jaguars stayed on top of the Windwards Volcanoes at the end of day two of the ongoing WICB Professional Cricket League (PCL) Regional four-day tournament.
Played at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, Deonarine took his overnight score of 79 to 139 as the Jaguars made 291 all out.
The dependable Shivnarine Chanderpaul supported with 62 and Assad Fudadin 34 as Kenroy Peters bagged 5-36 while Mervin Mathew and Nelon Pascal supported with 3-29 and 2-53 respectively.
The second round match of the 2014/15 tournament was played under brilliant sunshine compared to the first day which was shrouded by dark clouds and intermittent rainfall. The sun also allowed a full day’s play of cricket, which to some surprise was watched by approximately 100-odd spectators.
Deonarine, for the second consecutive time in the tournament exhibited a high-level of fitness, skill and concentration. He faced 293 balls and dominated the Windwards bowling attack squeezing 15 fours during his 369-minute stay at the crease.
He also shared a 153-run fourth-wicket partnership with Chanderpaul whose meticulous innings of 62 came from 220 deliveries with three fours. It was the veteran West Indies batsman’s 127th first-class half-century.
Windwards left-arm seamer Kenroy Peters who bowled 21.1 overs was instrumental in the Jaguars being restricted to 291 all out form 129 overs while Pascal bowled with pace, accuracy and consistency throughout the first innings.
At stumps, the Volcanoes were 63-2 from 31 overs with out-of-favor West Indies batsman Andre Fletcher and night-watchman Peters unbeaten on 9 and 2 respectively. Deonarine and left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul were the two bowlers to make inroads for Guyana.
Openers Devon Smith and Tyrone Theophile (21) started the hunt in a positive fashion with the left-handed Smith opening his account with a typical cover drive for four off Raymon Reifer which was followed by a similar shot off the same bowler two overs later.
Jaguars’ skipper Leon Johnson then took the decision to relieve Ronsford Beaton and Reifer of their spells and introduce the spinners Permaul and Deonarine, a move which paid off as the Deonarine had Smith pinned LBW for a 26-ball 29 with six fours.
Fletcher walked out at number three and was immediately given a life on 0 when wicket-keeper Anthony Bramble failed to cling on to an edge which would have given Deonarine his second wicket.
The spinner continued as the two right-handers attempted to negate the spin and bounce but Permaul got the breakthrough when he knocked over Theophile with a delivery which went through the gate of the right-hander.
Peters, who caused problems with the ball earlier in the day was sent out to perform duties of night-watchman as stumps on day two approached and along with Fletcher the two saw off the opposition bowlers as curtains came down on a competitive day of cricket.
Earlier, Deonarine, resuming on his overnight innings on 79, took his total to 97 at the first drinks break with the elder statesman Chanderpaul looking compact on 32. A few deliveries after the break the 31-year-old would then register his 11th first-class century with a boundary which also took the Jaguars past the 200-run mark.
The left-hander’s milestone took some 210 balls and a painstaking 257 minutes at the crease, a small price to pay for a batsman who seemed to be reverting back to the run-getter of old. The partnership continued to flourish as Liam Sebastian and his men were tasked with breaking the partnership which seemed to be taking the Jaguars into another good first innings position.
At lunch, Guyana were 243 for 3 adding just 75 runs in their two-and-a -alf hour morning session with Deonarine on 123 and Chanderpaul two runs away of a half-century. After spending more than 30 minutes in his 40’s, Chanderpaul resuming his innings after lunch, got to his half-century with a boundary off Pascal.
Pascal then returned operating from the Media Center End where he picked up his first wicket trapping Deonarine LBW leaving Guyana at 263 for 4 with Reifer coming to the middle in a situation tailor-made for an aggressive batsman.
Peters, who bowled with a precision wicket-to-wicket approach, replaced Pascal from the Media Center End and was rewarded for his consistency when he dismissed Chanderpaul leg before wicket which triggered a batting collapse as the Jaguars lost their last seven wickets for 28 runs.
The Windwards swung things in their favor when Mathew landed a double strike first removing Reifer for 2 after the Barbadian again failed to prove his worth with the bat and lobbed a return catch to the bowler while Bramble (0) suffered a first ball LBW decision.
The Jaguars then became the hunted when Peters stalked the lower-order, placing himself on a hat-trick after removing spin twins Veerasammy Permaul (1) who was caught by wicket-keeper Lindon James and Devendra Bishoo (0) who provided a regulation catch to Theophile at second slip.
Chris Barnwell, who had been in the thick if things following the collapse of the two giants in Deonarine and Chanderpaul then looked to open up and free his arms with last man Beaton who has proven that he too can wield the willow.
The left-arm medium pacer Peters then claimed his fifth wicket of the innings when he removed Beaton LBW, bringing a dramatic end to the local side’s first innings. The action resumes today at 9:00hrs with the local team seeking to go two up in their first of three home matches.
Scoreboard
JAGUARS 1st Innings
R Chandrika b Pascal 5
A Fudadin lbw b Matthews 34
*L Johnson c (sub) Lesporis b Peters 19
N Deonarine lbw b Pascal 139
S Chanderpaul lbw b Peters 62
R Reifer c and b Matthew 2
C Barnwell not out 18
+A Bramble lbw b Matthew 0
V Permaul c wkpr James b Peters 1
D Bishoo c Theophile b Peters 0
R Beaton lbw b Peters 1
Extras (b2, nb8) 10
TOTAL (all out, 129.1 overs) 291
Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-39, 3-110, 4-263, 5-270, 6-276, 7-277, 8-277, 9-277, 10-291.
Bowling: Matthews 22-8-29-3, Pascal 17-4-53-2 (nb5), Peters 21.1-10-36-5, Bobb 30-2-74-0, Sebastien 32-6-75-0 (nb2), Fletcher 1-0-6-0, Theophile 6-2-18-0.
WINDWARDS 1st Innings
D Smith lbw b Deonarine 29
T Theophile b Permaul 21
A Fletcher not out 9
K Peters not out 2
Extras (nb2) 2
TOTAL (2 wkts, 32 overs) 63
To bat: S. Ambris, R. Currency, *L. Sebastien, +L. James, A. Bobb, M. Matthew, N. Pascal.
Fall of wickets: 1-33, 2-60.
Bowling: Beaton 3-1-16-0, Reifer 3-1-12-0, Deonarine 8-4-12-1, Permaul 8-6-4-1, Bishoo 10-4-19-1 (nb2).
Position: Windwards trail by 228 with eight first innings wickets standing.
Umpires: N. Shivsankar, P. Nero.
