HOST nation Guyana began their quest for their first Regional 50 overs title since 2005 on a successful note yesterday, when they defeated the Windward Islands by 103 runs in their first round match of this year’s West Indies Cricket Board Super50 tournament at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.
When play got underway at 0930hrs after overnight rain left some parts of the outfield strewn with dead grass, the visitors won the toss and asked the host to take first strike and put on a disciplined  performance to bowl out Guyana for `192 with Nelon Pascal and Gary Mathurin picking up seven wickets between them.
Asked to score a revised target of 175 runs from 40 overs after the heavens opened during the luncheon period, the Windward Islands crumbled to the spin/pace combination of Steven Jacobs and Paul Wintz who emulated Pascal and Mathurin and were bowled out for 72 from 25.4 overs.
Skipper Assad Fudadin who struck three fours in his topscore of 45 and former West Indies Under-19 opener Trevon Griffith got things started for the Digicel sponsored home team who were playing under the name Amazon Conquerors.
They lost Griffith, who was caught by Denis George off a lively looking Pascal along with vice captain Leon Johnson (19) who pushed a delivery tamely back to Mathurin after adding 47 for the second wicket with Fudadin.
Prior to his demise, Johnson had struck two sweetly timed fours off Kenroy Peters, while Fudadin a West Indies ‘A’ team middle order batsman and the holder of a WICB Developmental Contract, benefitted from a chance by Mathurin who grassed an easy off at point off Pascal in Guyana’s third over.
Fudadin said thanks by hitting Craig Emmanuel with authority all along the ground for four while he eased Mathurin through extra cover for another boundary, before being adjudged lbw to Mathurin in the bowler’s next over.
Former West Indies opener Travis Dowlin, who made 31 was joined by Royston Crandon but after hitting George for two fours in his 15, was adjudged lbw to George and he was followed by the prized wicket of Jonathan Foo (02) who edge one from Pascal in the first over of the final batting power play, to Andre Fletcher behind the stumps.
Dowlin fought back by hitting George for a big six over long off before Guyana lost his wicket and that of Derwin Christian at 138 for 7.
Jacobs joined Barnwell who started cautiously and they took the score to 156, before Jacobs picked out George off Pascal while Wintz was run out for 1 thanks to some superb work from Liam Sebastian who moved to his right to slow down a Barnwell drive before whisking the return to Fletcher with Wintz well short of his ground after responding late to the call by Barnwell for the single.
At 157 for 9 in the 47th over, the hopes of Guyana reaching 175 as Steven Latcha strolled to the wicket looked impossible, but Barnwell who hit George for a six and four followed by another off the first delivery of the final over which was bowled by Pascal, added 35 valuable runs from the final three overs with Latcha who was unbeaten on 7.
Pascal knocked back the leg stump of Barnwell on his way to finishing with 4 for 38 from nine overs while Mathurin took 3 for 38 from 12 overs, as they kept a tight rein on the home team batting lineup, whose next best score was Royston Crandon’s 15 that included two fours struck off Denis George.
When the Windwards began their reply, they were rocked by Jacobs who bowled unchanged from the Pavilion End and Wintz who left them precariously placed on 29 for 6, with the prized wickets of skipper Devon Smith (00), Johnson Charles (01) and Andre Fletcher (02) being the batsmen back in the pavilion.
Hyron Shallow (17), George (14) and Pascal with 12 not out, brought some respectability to their team’s total, but when Jonathan Foo dived to his right to save a certain four from Pascal, retrieved the ball and in one motion had a direct hit to the stumps at the non-strikers end, George was found short of his crease as the Guyanese began their celebration.
Foo had earlier displayed the high level of fielding the home team underwent prior to the tournament, when he held a well judged catch at long on to account for Emmanuel (07) when the batsman tried to hit Jacobs over that area.
Another low catch taken inches off the ground, this time while stationed at third man to send back Hyron Shallow off Barnwell, all but justified Guyana’s march to a convincing victory and despite Pascal hitting Latcha for back to back boundaries, Foo cemented the writing on the wall with George’s run out.
Jacobs ended with 4 for 21 from 10 overs of controlled off spin and should have taken a fifth wicket, had Crandon held an over the head offer from George when the Windwards were struggling at 49 for 8 in the 19th over.
Wintz, one of three debutants for Guyana at this level (Griffith and Latcha being the other two), ended with 3 for 15 while there was a wicket each for Barnwell as the home team kept a tight rein on the opposition batting order, bowling all four maiden overs sent down in the match.
The action continues today from 09.00hrs, with Jamaica taking on the Leeward Islands at the Guyana National Stadium while the Trinidad and Tobago versus Combined Campuses and Colleges encounter will now take place at the Everest Cricket Club ground, instead of the Georgetown Cricket Club ground.

Scorecard
GUYANA Innings
T. Griffith c George b Pascal 10
A. Fudadin lbw Mathurin 45
L. Johnson c&b Mathurin 19
T. Dowlin c Shallow b Mathurin 31
R. Crandon lbw George 15
J. Foo c wkpr Fletcher b Pascal 01
C. Barnwell b Pascal 38
D. Christian c Shallow b Pascal 02
S. Jacobs c George b Sebastian 09
P. Wintz run out (Sebastian/Fletcher) 01
S. Latcha not out 07
Extras (w12, lb1, nb1) 14
Total (all out off 50 overs) 192
Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-62, 3-92, 4-117, 5-124, 6-134, 7-138, 8-156, 9-157, 10-192
Bowing: Pascal 9-0-38-4 (w8), Peters 5-0-19-0 (w2), Emmanuel 5-0-20-0 (w1), Sebastian 12-0-41-1, Mathurin 12-0-38-3 (w1), George 7-0-35-1 (nb1)

WINDWARD ISLANDS Innings
J. Charles stp Christian b Wintz 01
D. Smith c Wintz b Jacobs 00
A. Fletcher lbw Jacobs 02
K. Lesporis c wkpr Christian b Wintz 03
L. Sebastian lbw Wintz 01
H. Shallow c Foo b Barnwell 17
C. Emmanuel c Foo b Jacobs 07
G. Mathurin b Jacobs 05
D. George run out (Foo) 14
K. Peters c wkpr Christian b Latcha 04
N. Pascal not out 12
Extras (w5, nb1) 06
Total (all out off 24.5 overs) 72
Fall of wickets: 1-01, 2-06, 3-07, 4- 09, 5-13, 6-29, 7-42, 8-42, 9-59, 10-72
Bowling: Jacobs 10-1-21-4 (w3, nb1), Wintz 5-0-15-3 (w2), Barnwell 6-2-22-1, Latcha 2.5-0-14-1, R. Crandon 1-1-0-0.