-book NAGICO Super50 semi-final spot
THANKS to half centuries from three of their batsmen, coupled by some discipline bowling midway through the Windward Islands’ innings, Malta Supreme Guyana trumped the defending champions by 22 runs to book their place in the semifinals of this year’s West Indies Cricket Board NAGICO Super50 tournament last night.Playing at the Queen’s Park Oval, Malta Supreme Guyana who defeated Ireland by 114 runs in their first game last Friday, made one change to that lineup, wherein Assad Fudadin replaced an injured Shivnarine Chanderpaul, won the toss and opted to bat first on a grassy surface, where they recovered from 3 for 1 to post 235 for 7, before bowling out their opponents for 213.
They lost Trevon Griffith (00) who was caught at the wicket by Andre Fletcher off Delorn Johnson (2 for 39) off the final delivery of the first over, and should have seen Ramnaresh Sarwan back in the hut in the third over, only for Fletcher to spill the straight forward chance, also off a pumped up Delorn Johnson.
However, they recovered to score 235 for 7 from their 50 overs, with Sarwan leading the way with 62 (92balls, 5×4, 1×6), coupled with 52 from the skipper Christopher Barnwell and 51 from Fudadin, in the face of Mervin Matthew (4 for 41) and Delorn Johnson’s 2 for 39.
The defending champions got a raucous start from Johnson Charles 35 (36balls, 5×4) and Devon Smith 5, who added 35 for the first wicket from 5.1 overs, with Charles hitting Paul Wintz for a pair of boundaries in the third and fifth over of his team’s innings.
Smith was the first to go, bowled by an in-swinging Yorker from Beaton which uprooted his middle stump like an unwanted piece of grass on the lawns of State House.
His demise enabled Tyrone Theophille 31 (36balls, 5×4) and Charles to join forces and add 20 for the second wicket before Charles went for an injudicious swipe at Barnwell and was bowled, while Andre Fletcher, who had earlier grassed a straight forward chance from Sarwan, was lbw to Bishoo, after hitting the right hand leg spinner for 6, followed by Theophille in Bishoo’s following over.
Keddy Lesporis 33 (43balls, 3×4) and Romel Currency (23) added 61 for the fifth wicket but the return of Beaton at the start of the 34th over, saw the fall of Currency who was bowled in his attempt to cut at a delivery that was close to him, while Wintz had Lesporis lbw in his next over leaving the defending champions who lost their first game to Jamaica, on 157 for 6.
Liam Sebastien and Matthew 24 (33balls, 3×4; 1×6) sought to repair the damage with a cameo seventh wicket partnership that netted 43 runs for the Windward Islands, with Matthew hitting Beaton over third man for a 97 meter six, before he cut the same bowler straight to Permaul at gully point in the 43rd over.
Veerasammy Permaul removed both Garey Mathurin (05) and Delorn Johnson (00) off successive deliveries in the 45th over, before trapping Sebastien lbw with his fourth delivery of the 46th over to seal the win for Malta Supreme Guyana.
Permaul ended with 3 for 24, Beaton who was later declared the Man of the Match, 3 for 39 while Bishoo took 2 for 42 for Guyana, who face Jamaica in their final preliminary round match on Saturday at the same venue.
Earlier in the contest, Fudadin and the 33 year old Sarwan repaired their team’s innings in the face of some adverse bowling from the defending champions, who conceded the first boundary in the 15th over, when Fudadin cut Mathew through point for four.
Sarwan followed suit with a four from his trademark cut shot off Kenroy Peters, before he hoisted Johnson Charles for six, followed by a four in the 23rd and 26th over, respectively, while he brought up his second half century of this year’s tournament and 50 overall in his team’s 32nd over.
Sarwan faced 82 balls and struck three fours and one six in getting to his half century, which he celebrated with back to back fours in the 34th over off Garey Mathurin, before he struck a low full toss from Matthew in the first over of the second power play, straight to Sebastien at extra cover.
This was after he added 121 for the second wicket with Fudadin, with his contribution being the team’s top score of 62 scored off 92 deliveries and decorated with five fours and one six, going with Guyana 124 for 2 in the 36th over.
Enter Christopher Barnwell to the wicket after the exit Fudadin, who after reaching his 50 from 118balls, with six fours, looked to work Matthew to fine leg and picked out the waiting hands of Delorn Johnson at short fine leg, having faced 120balls for his 51, with 89 being scoreless deliveries.
Leon Johnson joined Barnwell and they brought the sprinkling of spectators at the venue to their feet, during their 84 runs fourth wicket partnership that took them 9 overs to accumulate, a strong testament of their will to score rapidly in the face of discipline bowling.
Johnson pulled his namesake from the opposition over midwicket for six, which was followed by a sweetly timed reverse sweep off Sebastien for four, followed by a six over wide long on off the Windward Islands’ skipper.
At the other end, Barnwell refused to be left out by hitting Matthew for six back over his head, before Romel Currency took a well-judged catch at deep cover to account for Leon Johnson, who made a rapid 41 from 31 deliveries with three fours and two sixes.
Despite the quick demise of Narsingh Deonarine (02), Barnwell got to his half century from 41 balls with four fours and two sixes, but in their hunt for quick runs, Malta Supreme Guyana lost Anthony Bramble (06) and Barnwell in the final over of their innings, bowled by Matthew.
Bramble was magnificently caught by Lesporis at wide long-on, while Barnwell saw his leg stump being clipped off the final delivery, having made 51 from 42 balls with four fours and two sixes, as Malta Supreme Guyana recovered from a shaky start.

Scorecard
GUYANA INNINGS
T. Griffith c wkpr Fletcher b D. Johnson 00
A. Fudadin c D. Johnson b Matthew 51
R. Sarwan c Sebastien b Matthew 62
C. Barnwell b Matthew 51
L. Johnson c Currency b Charles 41
N. Deonarine c Sebastien b D. Johnson 02
A. Bramble c Lesporis b Matthew 06
V. Permaul not out 01
Extras: (w14, lb4, b2, nb1) 21
Total (for 7 wickets off 50 overs) 235
Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-124, 3-130, 4-214, 5-218, 6-234, 7-235
Did not bat: D. Bishoo, P. Wintz, R. Beaton
Bowling: D. Johnson 10-1-39-3 (w3), Peters 10-1-37-0 (w3), Matthew 10-1-41-1 (nb1), Charles 7-1-39-1 (w1), Sebastian 9-1-50-0 (w2), Mathurin 4-0-23-0 (w1)

WINDWARD ISLANDS INNINGS
D. Smith b Beaton 05
J. Charles b Barnwell 35
T. Theophille lbw b Bishoo 31
A. Fletcher lbw b Bishoo 17
K. Lesporis lbw b Wintz 33
R. Currency b Beaton 23
L. Sebastien lbw b Permaul 19
M. Mathew c Permaul b Beaton 23
G. Mathurin c wkpr Bramble b Permaul 05
D. Johnson b Permaul 00
K. Peters not out 03
Extras: (lb11, w11) 22
Total: (all out off 46.4 overs) 213
Fall of wickets: 1-35, 2-55, 3-96, 4-96, 5-157, 6-157, 7-200, 8-206, 9-206, 10-213
Bowling: Wintz 5-0-29-1 (w1), Beaton 9-1-43-3 (w6), Barnwell 6-0-31-1 (w1), Permaul 9.4-2-24-3 (w1), Bishoo 10-0-42-2 (w2), Deonarine 7-0-33-0.

Written By Calvin Roberts in Trinidad and Tobago
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