Guyana scrape into Red Stripe final

DISCOVERY BAY: Six Jamaican wickets tumbled for 29 runs as Guyana recorded a sensational, come-from-behind, four-run victory over the home team in their Red Stripe Bowl cricket semifinal at Kaiser Oval yesterday. Close to 5,000 stunned home fans watched as Jamaica slumped from 150 for four to 179 all out off 49.1 overs. Earlier, the home team had limited Guyana to 183 all out off 49.5 overs and seemed well on course for victory with Chris Gayle and David Bernard looking at ease in a 60-run, fifth-wicket stand. Bernard’s dismissal, however, triggered a stunning batting collapse that conceded victory to Guyana and earned the victors a place in Sunday’s final at the same venue against the winners of today’s second semi-final between Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.
      
Gayle batted responsibly to gather seven fours in his top score of 67 from 128 balls, but the Guyana slow bowlers, led by Mahendra Nagamootoo with three wickets for 24 runs from 9.1 overs and Neil McGarell, later named Man-of-the-Match, with two for 31 from 10 overs, all turned in purposeful performances when their team needed them the most. With five runs needed from the last over bowled by Nagamootoo, everyone was on their feet as Jerome Taylor played across and was LBW first ball to send Jamaica, last year’s losing finalist, crashing out of the competition. Gayle and fellow West Indies left-hander Wavell Hinds put together 47 for the second wicket after fast bowler Rayon Griffith had given Guyana early hope by having Brenton Parchment caught behind in the third over. Ricardo Powell was greeted by a resounding roar from the large and vocal crowd and the powerful right-hander, already with two half-centuries in the competition, smashed Crandon for three consecutive boundaries in his seventh over that cost 13 runs.

Left-arm spin bowler McGarell then silenced the crowd at 90 for four when Powell was bowled for 20 off 17 balls. Guyana, sent in to bat on a pitch that offered the bowlers appreciable bounce and movement early, found scoring difficult and subsided to 89 for six. Guyana passed 50 before the lively Taylor captured the valuable wicket of West Indies vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan bowled for eight in the 15th over, much to the delight of a good sized crowd. Breese them removed opening batsman Sewnarine Chattergoon and Chanderpaul as Guyana slumped to 73 for five, Two lower-order partnerships involving McGarrell, whose 43 from 60 balls was the top score, towards the end of the innings beefed up the Guyana total.

Scoreboard
GUYANA vs JAMAICA
Guyana inns:
S Chattergoon c Parchment b Breese 23
R Ramdass LBW b Bernard 9
L Cush c Baugh b Bernard 0
R Sarwan b Taylor 8
S Chanderpaul st Baugh b Breese 12
N Deonarine LBW b M Samuels 11
M Nagamootoo c & b Gayle 30
N McGarrell b R Powell 43
V Nagamootoo c Baugh b Taylor 4
E Crandon c Baugh b R Powell 17
R Griffith not out 2
EXTRAS (B4, LB7, W12, NB1) 24
Total (49.5 overs) 183
Fall of wickets: 36; 36; 56; 60; 73; 89; 121; 139; 176; 183.
BOWLING: D Powell 8-1-27-0 (W); Taylor 10-1-38-2 (W5); Bernard 4-0-20-2 (NB1, W4); Breese 10-1-35-2; M Samuels 10-2-25-1; Gayle 5-0-18-1; R Powell 2.5-0-9-2.

Jamaica inns:
C Gayle c Chanderpaul b Nagamootoo 67
B Parchment c Nagamootoo b Griffith 2
W Hinds c Chanderpaul b Crandon 23
M Samuels c Nagamootoo b Crandon 0
R Powell b McGarrell 20
D Bernard c Deonarine  b Nagamootoo 29
R Samuels c Ramdass b Deonarine 5
G Breese run out 7
C Baugh b McGarrell 0
D Powell not out 5
J Taylor LBW b Nagamootoo 7
EXTRAS (LB6, W8) 14
Total (49.1 overs) 179
Fall of wickets: 11; 58; 58; 90; 150; 155; 160; 165; 168; 179.
BOWLING: Griffith 4-0-26-1 (W2); Crandon 7-0-39-2 (W3); Cush 10-2-20-0 (W1); McGarrell 10-0-31-2 (W1); Nagamootoo 9.1-0-24-3 (W1); Deonarine 9-2-33-1.
Result: Guyana beat Jamaica by four runs.
Man of the Match: Neil McGarrell.