Leg-spinner Damion Jacobs’ 5-for outweighed fifties from Guyana Jaguars skipper Leon Johnson and Rajindra Chandrika as Jamaica head into day three with a slight lead of 44-runs, in round eight of the Professional Cricket League (PCL) Four-Day match which continued at the Guyana National Stadium, Provicdence, yesterday.
The 30-year-old, who ended with figures of 23.2-4-67-5, managed to give his team the upper hand despite half-centuries from Johnson and Chandrika.
West Indies player Johnson batted for 248 minutes and faced 177 deliveries for his top score of 78 striking 10 fours while Chandrika hammered eight fours in his aggressive innings of 69 as Guyana were bowled out for 236 in 88.2 overs, 22 runs short of the 258 made by Jamaica in their first innings. The visitors were 22 for 1 in their second innings at stumps after opener Shacaya Thomas was trapped LBW by Chris Barnwell. Opener John Campbell (10) and Jermaine Blackwood (18) will resume their innings today.
Resuming on 35 without loss, Guyana progressed to 78 before losing opener Assad Fudadin who looked confident upon his return, but lost his way when he was caught at short-leg by Thomas off Brown for 29.
Chandrika continued to craft his innings with a series of shots around the ground and reached his sixth Regional First-class fifty off 96 balls. The lunch interval saw the Jaguars steady at 124 for 1 from 41 overs with the opener on 64 and Johnson on 26.
When play resumed, the two progressed but the opener again missed out on another chance to reach three figures when he was trapped LBW by Dave Bernard Jr (1-28). The Captain remained settled in his zone and along with new man Narsingh Deonarine (23) the two milked the bowlers for ones and two’s while the bad balls were put away to the boundary.
Jacobs would then capture one of the big fishes in the Guyana side when he had Deonarine similarly caught at short-leg by Thomas which left the score at 171 for 3. Shiv Chanderpaul (13) joined his skipper who had a string of luck at the other end during the final over before tea, when he was dropped twice by Campbell in first slip, the last of which he picked up two runs to bring up his 50 off 132 deliveries, at the stroke of the break.
When the final session of play resumed the Jaguars who were 188 for 3 heading into the interval, suffered a huge loss when an attacking Jacobs made Chanderpaul uncharacteristically play an aggressive cut shot which found the gloves of wicket-keeper Chadwick Walton.
The Jaguars then became the hunted when two successive strikes, the first being Vishaul Singh who was run out for 5 but appeared to be well in his crease. However, umpire Dandkumar Shiv Sankar was confident he was short a few inches and Barnwell was trapped LBW by Jacobs the first ball which left the hosts at 210 for 6.
Twenty-two runs short of his third first-class, Johnson would then play an inside-out shot which went aerial and sailed down the throat of Marquino Mindley, giving Jacobs his fourth scalp. In what could be described as miscommunication, the Jaguars carelessly lost two batsmen in wicket-keeper Anthony Bramble (04) and Veerasammy Permaul (01) by the run out route.
As stumps on day two approached, Jacobs picked up his fifth wicket of the innings when Davendra Bishoo was out leg before wicket for duck, bringing the innings to an end. Day three’s action continues today at 10:00hrs.
