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BRILLIANT half-centuries by skipper Denesh Ramdin (75 not out) and stylish strokeplayer Darren Bravo (66) wrested the advantage from Guyana on the opening day of their West Indies Cricket Board Regional 4-Day fourth round encounter at the Queen’s Park Oval yesterday. Guyana captain Veerasammy Permaul won the toss and invited the homesters to take strike on a fairly even-paced track.
After restricting T&T to 105 for three at the luncheon interval; Guyana would have been happy with their overall efforts although they knew the capabilities of the two not out batsmen Darren Bravo (31 runs, 53 balls punctuated with four fours and a six) and hard-hitting all-rounder Kieron Pollard (2 runs, 2 balls).
With clever variations and supported by good ground fielding, skipper Permaul led the way and featured in the dismissals of WI T20 opener and form batsmen Lendl Simmons, caught at extra cover position from a skied attacking stroke for an attractive 51 (67 balls, 9x4s); and West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, caught by Ramnaresh Sarwan at first slip for nought (8 balls.
Those two dismissals within nine minutes just before the interval swung the pendulum in favour of Guyana after Bravo and Simmons had posted 68 runs for the second wicket and looked untroubled until Simmons played a careless shot and paid the price when Chanderpaul, although affected by the midday overhead sunlight in his eyes; held a well-judged swirling catch.
All-rounder Asad Fudadin, first change bowler; had effected the early breakthrough by having former WI opener Adrian Barath, caught by Shivnarine Chanderpaul for 12 (33 balls) and the score 23 for one.
Permaul was tight and tantalising and was well supported by pacer Ronsford Beaton and Fudadin. At the luncheon interval the Guyanese team would have been elated and their joy would have doubled as power-hitter Kieron Pollard’s first attacking stroke sent the ball straight to Ronsford Beaton stationed at the wide mid-on position. The gift was gleefully accepted and T&T fortunes looked bleak at 115 for 4.
But T&T captain Denesh Ramdin, who foregoes his lunch to have a knock at the outdoor practice nets; was forced into an early rescue operation with the well set Darren Bravo. They did frustrate the Guyanese bowlers before Narsingh Deonarine prised out Bravo for an accomplished 66; smartly caught by Ramnaresh Sarwan diving backwards at first slip to clasp the red cherry that bounced off the outer edge between wicketkeeper Derwin Christian and himself.
It was a crucial breakthrough just before the tea interval and the Guyanese players and their supporters must have conjured up the idea of batting on the first day with the top half of the T&T line-up cooling their heels in the pavilion.
At that stage, T&T were 189 for 5 after 58 overs. Permaul maintained the pressure throughout and was the main wicket-taker with three wickets for 40 from 17 overs.
Ramdin who was undefeated on 38 found a useful partner in Imran Khan and they defied all the bowlers to fashion a face-saving unbroken sixth-wicket partnership worth 80 valuable runs.
The T&T captain was stuck on 49 for more than 26 minutes but he registered an important fifty and remained undefeated on 75 while Khan blossomed and he finished the day on 41. Their unbroken partnership is worth 87 and Ramdin struck 13 fours off 172 balls received.
He has so far batted with grit and determination for 216 minutes and would please the West Indies senior selectors with his adaptability and resoluteness. Khan has faced 108 balls and hit five fours during his 127 minutes vigil at the crease.
Permaul finished with three for 58 from 22 overs while Deonarine (1 for 39 from 11 overs) and Fudadin (1 for 21 from 6 overs) being the other wicket-takers.
History was created in the match with West Indies stalwart Shivnarine Chanderpaul and his eldest son Tagenarine appearing in a regional First Class match for the first time.
They became the first Guyanese pair and now join the first-ever regional father-son combination of Trinidadians Lebrun Constantine and son Learie, who together featured in the 1922 regional final between Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados at the Georgetown Cricket Club ground, Bourda.
Sir Learie who became WI first famous all-rounder was eventually honoured with a Knighthood for his distinguished services to the game and for social and political work among West Indians and Englishmen in England.
Guyana omitted all-rounder Steven Jacobs and Christopher Barnwell but were strengthened with the inclusion of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Sarwan, Deonarine and captain Permaul while T&T were bolstered with the return of the two Bravos, Dwayne and Darren; Pollard, Sunil Narine, Simmons, Shannon Gabriel and Ramdin.
Guyana must pick up early wickets to stay in contention for at least first-innings honours. Today should be another interesting day’s play with Ramdin and Khan also seeking to provide T&T’s strong bowling combination with a challenging total to keep an attacking policy in the hope of restricting Guyana’s powerful batting line-up.
After restricting T&T to 105 for three at the luncheon interval; Guyana would have been happy with their overall efforts although they knew the capabilities of the two not out batsmen Darren Bravo (31 runs, 53 balls punctuated with four fours and a six) and hard-hitting all-rounder Kieron Pollard (2 runs, 2 balls).
With clever variations and supported by good ground fielding, skipper Permaul led the way and featured in the dismissals of WI T20 opener and form batsmen Lendl Simmons, caught at extra cover position from a skied attacking stroke for an attractive 51 (67 balls, 9x4s); and West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, caught by Ramnaresh Sarwan at first slip for nought (8 balls.
Those two dismissals within nine minutes just before the interval swung the pendulum in favour of Guyana after Bravo and Simmons had posted 68 runs for the second wicket and looked untroubled until Simmons played a careless shot and paid the price when Chanderpaul, although affected by the midday overhead sunlight in his eyes; held a well-judged swirling catch.
All-rounder Asad Fudadin, first change bowler; had effected the early breakthrough by having former WI opener Adrian Barath, caught by Shivnarine Chanderpaul for 12 (33 balls) and the score 23 for one.
Permaul was tight and tantalising and was well supported by pacer Ronsford Beaton and Fudadin. At the luncheon interval the Guyanese team would have been elated and their joy would have doubled as power-hitter Kieron Pollard’s first attacking stroke sent the ball straight to Ronsford Beaton stationed at the wide mid-on position. The gift was gleefully accepted and T&T fortunes looked bleak at 115 for 4.
But T&T captain Denesh Ramdin, who foregoes his lunch to have a knock at the outdoor practice nets; was forced into an early rescue operation with the well set Darren Bravo. They did frustrate the Guyanese bowlers before Narsingh Deonarine prised out Bravo for an accomplished 66; smartly caught by Ramnaresh Sarwan diving backwards at first slip to clasp the red cherry that bounced off the outer edge between wicketkeeper Derwin Christian and himself.
It was a crucial breakthrough just before the tea interval and the Guyanese players and their supporters must have conjured up the idea of batting on the first day with the top half of the T&T line-up cooling their heels in the pavilion.
At that stage, T&T were 189 for 5 after 58 overs. Permaul maintained the pressure throughout and was the main wicket-taker with three wickets for 40 from 17 overs.
Ramdin who was undefeated on 38 found a useful partner in Imran Khan and they defied all the bowlers to fashion a face-saving unbroken sixth-wicket partnership worth 80 valuable runs.
The T&T captain was stuck on 49 for more than 26 minutes but he registered an important fifty and remained undefeated on 75 while Khan blossomed and he finished the day on 41. Their unbroken partnership is worth 87 and Ramdin struck 13 fours off 172 balls received.
He has so far batted with grit and determination for 216 minutes and would please the West Indies senior selectors with his adaptability and resoluteness. Khan has faced 108 balls and hit five fours during his 127 minutes vigil at the crease.
Permaul finished with three for 58 from 22 overs while Deonarine (1 for 39 from 11 overs) and Fudadin (1 for 21 from 6 overs) being the other wicket-takers.
History was created in the match with West Indies stalwart Shivnarine Chanderpaul and his eldest son Tagenarine appearing in a regional First Class match for the first time.
They became the first Guyanese pair and now join the first-ever regional father-son combination of Trinidadians Lebrun Constantine and son Learie, who together featured in the 1922 regional final between Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados at the Georgetown Cricket Club ground, Bourda.
Sir Learie who became WI first famous all-rounder was eventually honoured with a Knighthood for his distinguished services to the game and for social and political work among West Indians and Englishmen in England.
Guyana omitted all-rounder Steven Jacobs and Christopher Barnwell but were strengthened with the inclusion of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Sarwan, Deonarine and captain Permaul while T&T were bolstered with the return of the two Bravos, Dwayne and Darren; Pollard, Sunil Narine, Simmons, Shannon Gabriel and Ramdin.
Guyana must pick up early wickets to stay in contention for at least first-innings honours. Today should be another interesting day’s play with Ramdin and Khan also seeking to provide T&T’s strong bowling combination with a challenging total to keep an attacking policy in the hope of restricting Guyana’s powerful batting line-up.
