All-rounders Raymon Reifer and Steven Jacobs bowled defending champions Guyana Jaguars to an emphatic 104-run win over the Windward Island Volcanoes yesterday when round one of the 2015-16 Professional Cricket League (PCL) four-day tourney concluded at the Guyana National Stadium.
Reifer, the Barbados-born left-hand seamer, scythed through the visitors’ batting lineup with his angle and movement, bagging 4-41 while Jacobs snared 4-35, effectively halting the eruption of the Volcanoes who were mowed down for 125 in 46.1 overs, chasing 230.
Captain Liam Sebastien scored a defiant 36 returning to the middle after being struck on the helmet by a bouncer from Ronsford Beaton and Miles Bascombe played well for his 38 at the top-of the order.
When the match began on Friday last, the `Jags’ racked up a first innings score of 362 after opener Rajendra Chandrika slammed his maiden ton, 146, supported by a few other useful contributions from the other `Jags’ batsmen.
Off-spinner Shane Shillingford, who picked up 11 wickets in the match, began his campaign with 6-107 for the Volcanoes who, in their first innings reply, were bowled out for 228 with Smith top-scoring on 52.
Guyana found themselves hurried out for 95 in their second innings with Shillingford returning to pick up 5-36.
Chasing 230 for a come-from-behind win, the Volcanoes failed to erupt as a collective bowling approach from the Guyanese helped them to secure their first win at home gaining some 18 points.
They will now turn their attention to their next opponents, Leewards Islands Hurricanes.
The morning began with Windwards having a pretty straightforward mission, which was to get 230 runs from an entire day’s play with 10 wickets in hand, a task which proved futile. Opener Tyrone Theophile (04) fell first during the chase, out leg before wicket to Reifer.
Devon Smith (11) again succumbed to off-spin, caught at second slip by skipper Leon Johnson off Jacobs as the Volcanoes were left at 36-2. Reifer followed up his early breakthrough with a trifecta of quick wickets sending both Keddy Lesporis (02) and Sunil Ambris (00) packing after two top catches were taken off the left-arm seamer by glove-man Anthony Bramble, then nailing Dalton Polius LBW for duck.
Gudakesh Motie (1-7) joined the party and picked up the big wicket of Bascombe who was given out leg before wicket on the second ball of the left-arm spinner’s first over of the morning, putting the Volcanoes into disarray at 63-6. Beaten for pace was Bajan Kyle Mayers (08), who had his stumps uprooted by a lively delivery from Beaton the over before lunch, reducing the visitors to 76 for 7 at lunch.
After lunch, the Volcanoes skipper, Sebastien, who was forced to retire after being struck on the helmet by Ronsford Beaton (1-37) returned. Johnson used the psychological advantage and brought on his fastest bowler to rough up the opposition captain and it nearly worked when the right-hander attempted to hook Beaton and was nearly caught by Bramble off the top edge.
Some cunning piece of bowling from Jacobs gave him his second wicket and it was a big one, the Volcanoes skipper who was caught a deep backward-square, breaking a 45-run partnership between the skipper and Shillingford (14) who was also removed by the off-spinner. The final nail in the coffin was delivered by Jacobs who removed the last batsman Kenroy Peters for 4.
Scoreboard
JAGUARS 1st Innings 362
VOLCANOES 1st Innings 228
JAGUARS 2nd Innings 95
VOLCANOES 2nd Innings (target: 230)
D Smith c Barnwell b Jacobs 11
T Theophile lbw b Reifer 4
M Bascombe lbw b Motien 38
K Lesporis c wkp Bramble b Reifer 2
+S Ambris c wkp Bramble b Reifer 0
D Polius lbw b Reifer 0
*L Sebastien c Reifer b Jacobs 36
K Mayers b Beaton 8
S Shillingford c wkp Bramble b Jacobs 14
M Matthew not out 0
K Peters lbw b Jacobs 4
Extras (lb5, nb3) 8
TOTAL (all out, 46.1 overs) 125
Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-36, 3-49, 4-49, 5-59, 6-63, 7-76, 8-121, 9-121, 10-125.
Bowling: Jacobs 16.1-6-35-4, Beaton 10-3-37-1, Reifer 11-4-41-4, Motie 9-5-7-1.
Result: Jaguars won by 104 runs.
Points: Jaguars 18, Volcanos 3.
Man-of-the-Match: Rajindra Chandrika.
Toss: Jaguars.
Umpires: Nandkumar Shivsankar, Gregory Brathwaite.
