A five-wicket haul from Keon Joseph followed by an unbeaten half century from Anthony Bramble saw Johnson’s XI to a five-wicket win yesterday against Anthony Adams’ XI on the final day of the Guyana Jaguars three-day practice match at Providence.
In pursuit of 202 for an outright win, Johnson’s XI ended on 203-5.
Earlier, Adams’ XI, resuming their second innings on 76 for three, were dismissed for 154, an hour before lunch with Joseph, 28, picking up 5 for 75 from 10 overs.
Joseph bowled with aggression, mostly hitting the short lengths similar to what he did on the previous day when he got two wickets.
The right-arm seamer continued to build his case for national selection when he removed Jonathan Foo.
Foo, who added eight to his overnight score, received a short delivery which clipped the bat handle and ballooned to second slip. Foo’s innings lasted exactly one hour and included four boundaries.
Foo had shared in a 58-run fourth-wicket partnership with Raymond Perez who failed to add to his overnight score of 40 when he was dismissed in the first over of the day by Gudakesh Motie.
Cameos from Ronaldo Ali-Mohamed (27) Ricardo Adams (16) and Anthony Adams (15) allowed them to set a total for their bowlers to work with.
The bowlers, however, were without Nial Smith, who, batting without a helmet, was struck in the head by a short ball from Christopher Barnwell.
With Ramaal Lewis and Qumar Torrington coming off the field for pains, a nine-man fielding unit was never going to stop Johnson’s batting line up.
Chandrapaul Hemraj (30) and Trevon Griffith (26) gave Johnson’s side a positive start, sharing in an opening stand of 61 before Hemraj was dismissed. Griffith fell one run later but Johnson and Vishaul Singh revived the innings with a 30-run stand.
Johnson added 18 from 34 balls before he was trapped leg before wicket to Foo (3-37), giving the off-spinner his third wicket.
Singh then added 34 runs with Barnwell (17) who was bowled by Ricardo Adams (2-36) before his 62-run union with Bramble pushed his side closer to victory.
Singh missed out on a half century, falling for 47 after facing 88 balls and hitting four boundaries. Bramble would carry his side over the line with an unbeaten 55 coming off just 49 balls and laced with eight boundaries.
Singh, after the match, said the game served as good preparation for their title defence in the upcoming Professional Cricket League. His side had recovered from a 47-run deficit in the first innings with Adams’ men scoring 174 and Johnson’s troops replying with 127.
