to clash with T&T tomorrow
HOST country Guyana stormed their way into the final of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) President’s Cup limited overs competition where they will face defending champions Trinidad and Tobago, following a comfortable six-wicket victory over the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) at  the Guyana National Stadium last night.

Winning the toss in brilliant sunshine and opting to take first strike, the University students found the going rough against the spin-based home team bowling and were bowled out for 151 from 48.4 overs, to which Guyana replied with 152-4 from 40.3 overs.

Man-of-the-Match Shivnarine Chanderpaul receives his prize from Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) president Chetram Singh. The `little’ left-hander was left unbeaten on 50. (Sonell Nelson photos)

Kjorn Ottley 26 (1×4), Kevin McLean 23(1×4) and Omar Phillips 22 (3×4) were the leading batsmen against the bowling of Royston Crandon (4-25), Devendra Bishoo (3-27) and Veerasammy Permaul (2-30) for Guyana.

After being 11-2 at one stage in their reply, the home team who have not won a Regional limited overs title since 2005 when they defeated Barbados at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground in the KFC final, were taken to safety by Shivnarine Chanderpaul (50*) and skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan (37*).

Phillips and Romel Currency (14) posted 25 for the first wicket for CCC, with the latter cutting Christopher Barnwell through backward point for four while Phillips drove Esaun Crandon twice for four in successive overs, before Currency was run-out by Travis Dowlin when he attempted a sharp single to Travis Dowlin at mid on in the eighth over.

Four overs later, Nikolai Parris (26), who struck Barnwell for back-to-back boundaries through mid-on and extra cover respectively, was bowled by Royston Crandon’s first delivery of the match which kept low and knocked back his off stump.

And when Shivnarine Chanderpaul took an easy catch off Phillips who had struck Bishoo back over his head for four at extra cover, CCC, who got their first 50 from 16 overs, were 71-3 at the halfway stage of their innings.

A batting slump took place for CCC, who lost three quick wickets inclusive of Kurt Wilkinson (1), Ottley and Chadwick Walton (2) to Bishoo and Permaul respectively, to be 83-6 in the 30th over of their innings.

Skipper Floyd Reifer (13) and McLean added 37 for the seventh wicket, with McLean getting a thick outside edge past Dowlin to third man for four, before Reifer, who led a makeshift West Indies team to the ICC limited overs championship in South Africa, holed out to Chanderpaul at long on off Royston Crandon.

McLean did not hang around long enough to cause the home team bowlers any trouble after his skipper’s demise, as he played over a delivery from Royston Crandon and was bowled, as the Guyanese spinners kept a tight rein on the opposition’s batting, leaving them on 134-9 in the 44th over.

Their innings came to a close 39 minutes before the scheduled time, when Kavesh Kantasingh (11) was caught by Narsingh Deonarine running back from short fine leg off Permaul, leaving Ryan Austin unbeaten on 5.

Guyana began their reply 28 minutes before the scheduled interval break and lost Dowlin who was bowled by McLean, but not before he had pulled him through midwicket for four and was quickly followed by Barnwell who was caught at the wicket by Walton two balls later off the same bowler, leaving Guyana on 11-2 off seven overs.

The in-form Deonarine who, like Sarwan, Chanderpaul and Dowlin, will be going to Australia with the West Indies team in less than two weeks, fought fire with fire when he pulled Catlin through forward square for the first maximum of the game.

Sewnarine Chattergoon (13), who was at the other end of the wicket when Dowlin and Barnwell were dismissed, joined the boundary-scoring act after the break with a sweetly timed cut through point off Kantasingh for his first boundary, while Deonarine punched Catlin through point off the back foot for four.

The 26-year-old Deonarine who became the first batsman to score over 1 000 runs in a WICB first-class season, took a liking to Catlin when he flicked him neatly off his legs and into the Red Stand for his second maximum, prompting a ball change, while Chattergoon struck the same bowler over square leg for four off the final delivery of the 13th over, taking Guyana to 51-2.

Guyana lost Chattergoon who was caught by Austin at mid-on off Kantasingh, bringing an end to a 41-run third-wicket partnership with Deonarine that took 8.5 overs to compile, before Deonarine holed out to Phillips at long-on off Austin for 31 (2×6, 2×4), leaving Guyana on 61-4.

Guyana’s experienced players in Chanderpaul and Sarwan came together at the fall of Deonarine’s wicket and after a cautious approach, with the pair taking singles and even converting ones into twos, Sarwan played his trade-mark cut shot for four through point off Parris, as they added an unbroken 91-run stand for the fifth wicket.

The 100 was posted in the 32nd over, after which both Chanderpaul and Sarwan struck Wilkinson for double boundaries in an over which cost CCC 17 runs, the most expensive of the match as Guyana moved to 132-4, and 20 runs away from victory.

The two, who had brought up their 50 partnership from 14.2 overs, never looked to be threatened by a bowling attack that was bent on waiting for something to happen instead of making it happen, hence they capitalised and took their team to victory.

The writing was on the wall for the students, when the two took the batting power play at the start of the 40th over, in which Chanderpaul reverse-swept Parris through forward square for four, followed by a six over long-off to push the score to 146-4.

Chanderpaul brought up his 50 and the team’s victory with a four to backward square leg off Catlin, facing 85 balls and hitting four fours and his maximum off Parris in the previous over, while Sarwan was unbeaten on 35 from 54 balls with two fours, ensuring Guyana face T&T in tomorrow’s final from 1330h at the same venue.

McLean ended with 2-7 from 3.1 overs before he was forced to leave the field with an injury, while Kantasingh and Austin ended with one wicket each, as Chanderpaul was declared the man-of-the-match at the presentation ceremony that followed.
SCOREBOARD
CCC innings
O. Phillips c Chanderpaul b Bishoo 22
R. Currency run-out (Dowlin/Hicks) 14
N. Parris b R. Crandon 13
K. Ottley c Sarwan b Bishoo 26
K. Wilkinson lbw Bishoo 1
F. Reifer c Chanderpaul b R. Crandon 13
C. Walton c Dowlin b Permaul 2
K. McLean c wkpr Hicks b R. Crandon 23
K. Catlin b R. Crandon 1
R. Austin not out 5
K. Kantasingh c Deonarine b Permaul 11
Extras: (b-5, lb-4, w-11) 20
Total: (all out, 48.4 overs) 151
Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-42, 3-71, 4-73, 5-80, 6-83, 7-120, 8-126, 9-134.
Bowling: E. Crandon 6-0-18-0, Barnwell 6-0-24-0 (w-1), R. Crandon 9-0-25-4 (w-5), Deonarine 8-1-21-0, Bishoo 10-1-27-3 (w-1), Permaul 9.4-0-30-2 (w-4).

GUYANA innings
S. Chattergoon c Austin b Kantasingh 13
T. Dowlin b McLean 7
C. Barnwell c wkpr Walton b McLean 0
N. Deonarine c Phillips b Austin 31
S. Chanderpaul not out 50
R. Sarwan not out 35
Extras: (b-1, lb-1, w-11, nb-3) 16
Total: (for 4 wickets from 40.3 overs) 152
Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-11, 3-52, 4-61.
Bowling: Mc Lean 3.1-1-7-2, Kantasingh 10-4 11-1, Catlin 7.2 0-49-0 (w-7, nb-2), Austin 10-2-20-1 (nb-1, w-1), Parris 7-0-35-0, Currency 1-0-7-0 (w-2), Wilkinson 2-0-21-0 (w-1).