… Bramble hits 91, Red Force spinner Charles bags 5-87

By Clifton Ross

GUYANA Jaguars pacer Niall Smith’s lethal 5-wicket burst, coupled with spin Veerasammy Permaul’s wizardry, gave the champs added leverage, as the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force trailed the home team by 278 runs heading into the third day’s play.
The champs piled on a defendable 1st innings 323 all out in 111.3 overs after top-scorer, wicketkeeper Anthony Bramble smashed 91 off 77 balls with 14 fours and 3 sixes.
The wicketkeeper did all the hard work before falling inches short of what could have been a whirlwind century.

Opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul anchored the innings with a gruelling 68, all-rounder Chris Barnwell hit 58 while opener Chanderpaul Hemraj chipped in with 36 and Devendra Bishoo 27.

Red Force spinner Bryan Charles was the star for the table-leaders, bagging 5-87 as skipper Darren Bravo chipped in with 2 scalps to emerge as the premier wickettakers.
When bails were lifted on the second day, Guyana were well poised on 53-0 with both openers Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Chandrapaul Hemraj firmly placed on 29 and 23 respectively.

Prior to stumps, Red Force were mowed down for a first-innings 98 runs in 41 overs after Smith rocked the top-order with his opening spell, which saw him slice through the Red Force batting attack.

The right-hand pacer snatched a measly 5-12 from 8 overs while Permaul spun his way to 4-29, cleaning up the tail-enders following Smith’s carnage.

Opener Jeremy Solozano resisted with 27 while Yannick Ottley chipped in with a lower-order 22, amdst the Jaguars rampage.

After bowling out the Jaguars a few overs before lunch, Red Force openers Keegan Simmons (2) and Jeremy Solozano (7*) took the score to 10-0 at the lunch interval.
Things went downhill when the afternoon session resumed, as fast-bowler Keon Joseph (1-18) uprooted the stumps of Simmons, as Smith commenced his top-order assault.
The Berbician speedster knocked over Red Force skipper Darren Bravo (1) with a beauty which ruffled the left-hander’s stumps.

Smith then sent Jason Mohamed (0) and Joshua DaSilva (1) packing courtesy of two well-directed lbw deliveries to leave them reeling at 20-4 after 7 overs.

Solozano continued to seek a way out of the fire but Smith continued to apply the pressure and soon pinned the opener lbw before bagging his 5th victim when he cleaned up the timber of Yannick Cariah for a second-ball duck.

Akeal Hosein (13) got into double figures but fell to the guile of Permaul, who got into the action during the final session. The left-arm spinner ran through the Red Force tail with ease, removing Ottley, Odean Smith and Charles to keep the visitors under 100.
When play resumed, the morning session got off to a quiet start as the overnight pair of Bramble and Bishoo looked to adapt rather than attack.

After a few overs of tranquillity, drama unfolded when seamer Terrance Hinds who bowled the perfect over to Bramble, broke the edge of his bat a few balls into his over as he was caught by the diving glove-man Joshua DaSilva to get his only wicket.

With the Jaguars tail exposed, Bishoo and the others resisted for a few overs before the final wickets were taken by Charles and company.
Action continues at 09:30hrs today.