INDEBTED to a solid maiden ton in this format from West Indies Under-19 opener Shimron Hetmyer, backed by control spin bowling from Steven Sankar, host Guyana were large and in charge at the end of the penultimate day of their second round West Indies Cricket Board Regional Undert-19 three day fixture against Windward Islands at the Everest Cricket Club ground yesterday.

Resuming the day on 44 without loss in response to the visitors’ 139, Guyana were bowled out for 243 after being 121 for 1, with Hetmyer stroking 13 fours and four sixes in his 125, receiving support from Ashkay Homraj 40 and Tagenarine Chanderpaul 24.
Dorian Edward took 3 for 42, while Gidron Pope and Deron Hypolite took 2 wickets each for 26 and 67 runs respectively for the Windwards, who in their second knock at the crease close play on 79 for 4, after facing a deficit of 104 runs, with Roland Cato on 15 and Anson Latchman 12.
This was after they lost Pope, caught at the wicket by Kemol Savory from the second ball of their innings off the bolwing of Kemo Paul, while Sankar made a double strike in the 20th over, removing Kersakie Jno-Lewis and Tonis Simon, to catches taken by Balchand Baldeo at long on off successive deliveries.
Earlier in the day, Hetmyer and Chanderpaul pushed their first wicket partnership to 108, with the former posting his half century from 71balls while batting for 82 minutes and hitting six fours, posting Guyana’s 100 from 22 overs, with Chanderpaul on 20 and Hetmyer 75.
However, after stroking Edward gloriously to the long off boundary for his fourth four, Chanderpaul offered Cato a catch low down to his right at slip which he gleefully accepted to break the partnership with the second hour of the day’s play.
His 24 was scored off 50 balls and 110 minutes batting in which he struck four fours, while Guyana slipped to 159 for 5 shortly after, but not before Hetmyer got his maiden Regional Under-19 three day ton.
He faced 109 balls while batting for 127 minutes and struck 13 fours and one six, opening up his shoulders after reaching the landmark to hit three more sixes, before he was dismissed along with Brian Sattaur (00), Paul (01) and Baldeo 07.
At lunch, Guyana were 161 for 5 with Homraj on 2 and Shiraz Ramcharran yet to score and after the break, Homraj who got his maiden ton against the same opponents in last year’s tournament, punched Edward through point for four, suggesting permanence to his teammates.
Ramcharran was bowled behind his back sweeping to Hypolite for 9, enabling Savory to join forces with Homraj and add 31 for the seventh wicket, but Pope wasted little or no time in wrapping up the home team’s innings, removing Homraj whose 40 took 58 balls to aggregate from 69 minutes at the wicket in which he struck four fours.
The Windwards began their second innings after the tea break and saw Pope, edging the second delivery off Paul to Savory, before Melvin Gordon, fought back with back to back fours off Baldeo in the second over, a feat that was emulated by Simon who did the same to Paul.
Ramcharran trapped Gordon lbw at 29 and when Sankar removed Jno-Lewis and Simon in that order at 48 for 4, the visitors were wobbling, but Cato and Latchman took them to safety at the close of play, while they need 25 more runs on a wicket that is offering assistance to the spinners on today’s final day.
Written By Calvin Roberts