NATIONAL off-spinner Zaheer Mohammed grabbed 5-37 as Demerara regained control of their first round match in the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) four-day competition against Essequibo at the Anna Regina Community Centre ground yesterday.

Resuming on their overnight score of 109-4 in reply to Demerara’s 119, Essequibo got an 84-run lead when they were bowled out for 203 which was wiped off by Demerara, who, thanks to their skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan’s unbeaten 46, were 168-4, a lead of 84 with six second innings wickets in hand.

When Essequibo’s innings began on the second day at 09:52 h with Dillon Heyliger on 35 and Trevon Garraway yet to score, they progressed to 155, before they lost Garraway who was bowled by Troy Gonsalves in his attempt to cut a delivery that spun and left him.

The two had started cautiously against the pace spin attack of Barnwell and Jacobs, but cut loose when Heyliger swept Jacobs through forward square for four and watched at the other end as Garraway turned the same bowler to fine leg for two to give his team the first innings lead.

Heyliger got into his stride and turned Barnwell to fine leg for four to move to 49 and brought up his half-century with a maximum over wide long on, struck off Jacobs from the 110th delivery he had faced whilst batting for 119 minutes, counting four fours and two sixes in the process.

The 19-year-old Heyliger watched from the other end as Garraway hit Barnwell exquisitely through extra cover for four, then joined in the act by hitting the same bowler through the same position for another one of his seven fours.

But just when they were looking to further consolidate things for their team, Garraway got an inside edge from Troy Gonsalves and had his timber work disturbed and even though skipper Ramesh Narine struck  four fours in his robust 15-ball 21, Demerara fought their way back thanks to Zaheer Mohammed.

First, he had Narine snapped up by an alert Shemroy Barrington at leg slip and three deliveries later, had Lennox Andrews adjudged lbw without scoring, with Heyliger at the other end on 73 and Essequibo 183-7, leading their star-studded opponents by 64 runs.

Essequibo progressed to 203-7 at lunch with Heyliger on 81 and Andrew Williams who struck Leon Scott through point for four on 9, as 94 runs were added in the first session from 28 overs, losing three wickets in the process, with Heyliger accounting for 46 of those runs.

It took Demerara 21 balls to wrap up Essequibo’s innings after lunch without any addition to their score, as Mohammed got the wickets of Williams and Trevor Benn (0) who were both caught by Johnson at forward short leg, while Gonsalves had Heyliger who was dropped by Barrington at mid off from the bowling of Scott, stumped by wicketkeeper Joseph Perry.

Gonsalves (2-38) and Barnwell 2-43 offered support to Mohammed in the bowling department for Demerara, who commenced their second innings with an 84-run deficit, but got a pugnacious start as Barrington and Chandrika carried them to 44 before they were dismissed.

Barrington was the more aggressive of the two, hitting Garraway through forward square leg for four, followed by a six back over the head of Garraway and a sweetly timed four through extra cover two balls later.

It took a running one-handed catch at mid off by Norman Fredericks off Garraway to account for Barrington at the water break. On the resumption of play, Benn had Chandrika adjudged lbw to one that pitched and straightened, leaving Demerara on 44-2.

Johnson and Krishna Deosarran saw their team to 71-2 at tea, with both batsmen hitting Benn and Williams for boundaries as they sought to repair the damage done to their team’s batting by the home team, with Johnson on 11 and Deosarran 15.

Johnson went in the second over after tea, caught by Heyliger at first slip off Adams who watched as a Deosarran outside edge went between Heyliger and wicketkeeper Andrews two deliveries later, as Demerara were 75-3.

Deosarran went on to hit Adams through extra cover twice for four, followed by a pull through midwicket off Williams for another boundary, followed by a maximum over long on, as Demerara moved to 108-3 and a lead of 24 runs with seven wickets in hand.

Deosarran and Sarwan added 56 for the fourth wicket, before the former got an under edge from a short delivery from Garraway and was caught by at the wicket by Andrews for a well-played 36 which took him 66 balls to compile during his 106-minute vigil at the wicket, hitting four fours and one maximum.

Sarwan, who hails from the neighbouring island of Wakenaam, and was given a life by Yogeshwar Lall at gully off Garraway when on 34, was joined by Barnwell who showed grit and determination in negotiating the spinners in Adams, Williams and even Narine to see their team to 168-4 at the close.

The 22-year-old Barnwell who will resume his innings on 23, having so far struck two successive boundaries through mid-wicket off Garraway and a maximum over that same area off Narine while Sarwan has four fours including two audacious extra cover drives off Adams.

Garraway has so far taken 2-47 and along with Benn (1-30) and Adams (1-32), will be looking to limit the opposition’s batting, hence giving their team an opportunity to record a rare victory against their illustrious opponents when play resumes on the third day today, with his team already facing an 84- run deficit.