Shivnarine Chanderpaul grafted a patient half-century to give the Leon Johnson XI a 60-run lead over the Robin Bacchus XI on day two of the final Guyana Jaguars 4-day practice match played yesterday at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.
Johnson’s XI was 201-5 from 66.3 overs at stumps heading into the third day in reply to the Bacchus’ first innings score of 141. Chanderpaul was unbeaten on 53 from 124 balls with four fours. So too is all-rounder Raymon Reifer who will resume his innings today on seven with the veteran batsman.
Other contributions from Johnson’s side came from opener Assad Fudadin (47) who missed out on another half-century while in the in-form Vishaul “Cheesy” Singh scored a workman-like 34 from 119 balls during his 71-run stand with Chanderpaul. Seamer Paul Wintz (2-22) was the standout bowler while the skipper Bacchus and Javon Searles were the other bowlers to chip in with wickets.
Day two’s morning began with an eventful second over of the opening session where Wintz had the left-handed Johnson trapped leg before wicket for a duck. Singh joined Fudadin but their partnership was halted when the heavens opened up at 10:55hrs.
While Mother Nature did her job, the officials decided to take the lunch session while the groundsmen tended to the pitch. When play resumed at 12:45pm the Johnson XI sought to progress from 87-2 but lost Fudadin to Searles, caught behind.
Left-handers Chanderpaul and Singh combined their patience and superb temperament to frustrate Bacchus’s men, taking the score to 152-4. After a painstaking period, Bacchus introduced himself as an off-spinner and surprisingly bagged the wicket of Singh who failed to smash an innocuous delivery out of the Stadium, but managed to pick out Anthony Adams at long-off.
At 179-5 Reifer accompanied the veteran batsman who reached his half-century a delivery after surviving a close LBW shout from left-arm spinner Raj Nannan. Shortly after the pair of umpires decided to bring down curtains on day two’s play at 4:15pm after bad light threatened.
Day three’s action continues today.
