Guaracara match ends in tame draw

NARSINGH DEONARINE compiled a painstaking 56 runs while fellow diminutive left-hander Sewnarine Chattergoon made 42 as Guyana held out for a draw against Trinidad and Tobago in their Carib Beer Cricket Series Sixth Round contest yesterday at Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre. The Guyanese reached 159 for three wickets in their second innings before captains Shivnarine Chanderpaul (Guyana) and Daren Ganga (TT) agreed to halt proceedings at 4.30 pm, before the start of the mandatory 15 overs. At that stage, the visitors led by 107 runs but, with a virtual handful of supporters at the ground, the match was already doomed to a draw. As expected, triple Test batting record-holder Brian Lara was adjudged the “Man of the Match” by his former national and West Indies teammate Rajindra Dhanraj.

The homesters, with an additional six points, now share the lead with Barbados with 24 points, while Guyana, with three points, has 12 points, the same as Jamaica. Two rain delays yesterday made no difference to the outcome, with the first interruption lasting 45 minutes and the other break just five minutes. Krishna Arjune’s hour-long stay ended 20 minutes after the first stoppage. The stocky opener planted his left-leg forward to a yorker from leg-spinner Sanjiv Gooljar and was adjudged leg-before for 19 — a carbon copy of his first innings dismissal. Fellow opener Chattergoon and Deonarine began the post-lunch session with a flurry of boundaries off pacer Rayad Emrit and left-arm spinner Dave Mohammed — who had a lukewarm match.

However, Richard Kelly, operating from around the wicket, removed Chattergoon’s off-stump for 42 as the left-hander played across the line. With Gooljar and off-spinner Sherwin Ganga in tandem, the scoring rate dwindled before vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan, attempting an on-drive, was bowled by a well-flighted Ganga (S) ball. Deonarine continued his vigil, which lasted four hours and 24 minutes and, with captain Chanderpaul at the other end, they were both content on padding up to virtually every delivery before the players decided enough was enough. Trinidad and Tobago will oppose the Windward Islands at Shaw Park, Scarborough, Tobago in Seventh Round action this weekend while the Guyanese will travel to Jamaica.