TT escape with technical draw

TRINIDAD and Tobago and Guyana played to a technical draw in their opening match of this year’s Carib Beer Series regional cricket tournament at the National Cricket Centre ground, Balmain, Couva yesterday. The Trinidadians set off to get 164 runs to take first innings points, and were off to a grand start, and at tea were 53 for one wicket. But they lost wickets rapidly and at the end were struggling to stave off first innings defeat having slipped to 120 for seven wickets when bad light forced an early end. Scores: Guyana 163. TT 120 for seven wickets.

Openers Lendl Simmons with 28 and Sherwin Ganga 34 gave Trinidad and Tobago their excellent start.  But Guyana skipper Damodar Daesrath returned career-best figures of five wickets for 34 runs, to put the cat among the pigeons. Both teams received four points each for their unfinished  match. Guyana resumed yesterday on 87 runs for three wickets and a defiant Narsingh Deonarine struck four sixes and three fours in his 93 to guide his team to their total. The 20-year-old Guyanese batted for 332 minutes and faced 290 balls in his innings. Deonarine featured in a face-saving 103-run fourth-wicket partnership  with Azzad Fudadin who scored 29 runs. Trinidad and Tobago debutante fastbowlers Kyron Lynch and Richard Kelly shared seven of the Guyanese wickets.

Lynch bowled well to take four wickets for 22 runs and Kelly claimed three wickets for 29.  Trinidad and Tobago will next tackle Barbados away at Kensington Oval. And the Trinidad and Tobago selectors dropped Theodore Modeste and Rishi Bachan from their 14-man squad. And the pair was replaced by  opener Tishan Maraj and allrounder Rayad   Emrit. The full squad for Barbados is: Daren Ganga (capt), Sherwin Ganga, Lendl Simmons, Shazam Babwah, Imran Jan, Dinesh Ramdin, Richard Kelly, Dave Mohammed, Amit Jaggernauth, Kyron Lynch, Rayad Emrit, Samuel Badree, Tishan Maharaj. Manager is Giles Antoine, and coach David Williams.