Chanders 32 n.o. in Guyana’s 202/5

ALBION: Guyana and the Windward Islands shared the honours in yesterday’s opening day of their seventh-round Carib Beer Series regional cricket match, with Guyana crawling to 202 for five wickets at the close of play.

Opener Azeemul Haniff cracked eight boundaries in a crucial knock of 54, while Krishna Arjune had 41 with five fours to help stabilise Guyana, who have the services of senior West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chander-paul in their lineup for the first time this season. Middle order batsman Travis Dowlin, who scored two half-centuries in last week’s drawn match  against India “A”, made 22 before he was run out, attempting an impossible single to short cover. Chanderpaul, just back from the cricket World Cup in South Africa, was not out on 32, while wicketkeeper batsman Vishal Nagamoto was unbeaten on 5. Haniff and Arjune shared a productive second wicket partnership of 76, the biggest of the day. Guyana dropped struggling all-rounder Lennox Cush for Chanderpaul, but Arjune was included at the last moment after Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chanderpaul’s West Indies teammate, injured a finger and opted not to play.