Davis grabs 10-wicket haul as T&T trounce Guyana by 74 runs
CONTROLLED left-arm spin bowling from 18-year-old Deron Davis who took 7 for 25 (11 for 55) saw host Guyana pummel to their first defeat in this year’s West Indies Cricket Board’s Regional Under-19 tournament, when they went under to Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) by 74 runs in their third round fixture at the Everest Cricket Club ground yesterday.
While the Trinidadians displayed a level head in the field despite the late start, the Guyanese gifted their wickets away with poor shot selections, while the coach’s choice of batsmen was questioned by many who waited to witness the final day’s play.
Scores: T&T 191 and 64 Guyana 103 and 79.
The sun shone in all its glory throughout the first two sessions of the day, but soggy areas within the 30-yard circle, forced the umpires to push back the start until the end of the scheduled tea break. When play did get under way, the home team were met by a game Davis who bowled unchanged from the Northern End, sending down 20.1 overs.
Amir Khan and Kandasammy Surujnarine resumed on 0 and 6 respectively, but Guyana lost an aggressive-looking Khan in the third over of the day, when he was caught at mid off by Savion Lara for 6, as he looked to hit Davis over the infield.
Khan was followed by Chandrapaul Hemraj (2) who was taken at slip by Akeal Hosein to leave Guyana on 21 for 3, before Surujnarine pulled Jovan Ali’s fifth ball of his first over, over square leg for four, pushing the score to 33 for 3.
Vice-captain Kwame Crosse had replaced Hemraj, but never suggested permanence, even though he made 17 in support to Hemraj’s 32. He struggled to come to grips with Davis who bowled 20.1 of the 41 overs sent down by Trinidad and Tobago in the final session.
Crosse added 28 for the fourth wicket with Surujnarine but he was caught by a diving Philton Williams at short midwicket off Davis, when he too looked to clip the bowler over the infield. At the end of the first hour’s play, Guyana were 49 for 4, with Davis taking all the wickets to fall.
Surujnarine was joined by Dominique Rikhi (7) who struck Davis for four over wide mid on, while the former pulled Ali over forward squareleg as Guyana moved to 63 for 4, before they lost Surujnarine, Rikhi, Joemal La Fleur (1) and Anthony Adams (0) in quick succession to be 68 for 8.
Surujnarine made a patient 32 off 83 balls while batting for 106 minutes, hitting two fours, but with only Clinton Pestano, Ronsford Beaton and Gudakesh Motie-Kanhai to come, Guyana were facing an uphill battle, looking to score the remaining 85 runs for victory against a confident-looking Davis, who kept things tight at one end while the bowlers rotated at the other.
They could not do so, as Pestano holed out to a running Lett at long on and even though Beaton (6) and Motie-Kanhai (2*) showed some resistance for 32 minutes, it was all over at 17:11hrs when Davis knocked back the off stump of Beaton with the first ball of the fourth over of the final hour’s play.
Idrees Mohammed took 2 for 23 in support to Davis, as the spinners took 38 of the 40 wickets to fall in the contest, while the Guyanese was left to regret assisting the Everest ground staff with the mopping-up process earlier in the day, in the interest of having an early start to the day’s action.
With the win, T&T who lost their first match of the tournament but rebounded to win their next two, move to 24.3 points while Guyana who won their first match, saw the second being abandoned before losing to the third, have 15.7 points, gaining .2 points for Beaton’s two second-innings wickets.
Guyana will face the Windward Islands at the Georgetown Cricket Club ground in the next round which bowls off on Sunday, while T&T face Barbados who lost to points leaders Jamaica by nine wickets, at the Demerara Cricket Club ground. The other match will feature Leeward Islands and Jamaica at Everest.