Motie and Khan bowl Guyana to innings victory
IMPRESSIVE bowling from debutant left-arm orthodox spinner Gudakesh Motie who took 4 for 57 along with first class leg-spinner Amir Khan (3-43) guided Guyana to an impressive innings and 27-run victory over the Leeward Islands in their first round West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Under-19 match at the Guyana National Stadium, yesterday. Scores in the match; Leewards 107 and 183, Guyana 317 for 9 declared.
Resuming at their overnight score of 112 for 6 in search of another 98 runs to make the host team bat again, Leewards lost their skipper Hakeem Cornwall who hit a delivery back to the 15-year-old Motie when on 49, within the first half-hour of the day’s play.
Cornwall batted for 83 minutes, hitting six fours and one six from the 53 balls he faced and was quickly followed by Dymon Parris who fell for a golden duck when he was stumped by wicketkeeper Kevon Boodie off Amir Khan.
Nino Henry struck Motie back over long on for six followed by a four through backward square leg off Khan and at the end of the first hour’s play, the Leeward Islands who won their last Regional title right here in Guyana a decade ago, were 162 for 8 with Henry on 26 and Wasim Mentos 7.
Despite some lusty hitting from Henry and Mentos, the home team wrapped up the visitors innings 18 minutes inside the second hour, when Motie had both Henry and last-man Chavil Archibald lbw for 33 and nought respectively, leaving Mentos unbeaten on 21.
After the match, Guyana’s coach Hubern Evans praised his team for their all-round effort, but called on the spinners who are the backbone of the bowling, to give the ball some more flight.
“First of all, let me congratulate the guys on the victory, which makes our start to the tournament a successful one. Having said that, I must compliment the bowlers who ensured we took first innings points at the end of the first day.
The batsmen also played their part, since it’s a long time our batting has not passed 250 and to do so in one innings is a plus sign for us, but I am not fully pleased with the performance of our spinners, even though they won the game for us,” said Evans.
He added, “I thought that with a lead of over 200 on home soil, they would have given the ball some more flight and induced the batsmen into rash strokes but they did not. Also, I would like to see out fast bowlers get some early wickets at the top of the order and make the job much easier for the spinners when they come on.
Having said that, I think we can take a few positives into the next game against Jamaica on Friday (tomorrow), where we will be looking to build on the good start we have gotten so far in the tournament, as we seek to win the title for the first time in four years.”