By Sean Devers (Kaieteur News)

A scintillating 75 from 17-year-old West Indies under-19 opener Shemron Hetymer piloted Guyana to a 68-run win on the Duckworth/Lewis system against defending champions Jamaica in the fifth round of the Regional 50-over under-19 cricket tournament at Bourda yesterday to book their place in this year’s final.

Hetymer hammered six fours from 84 balls and got support from Skipper Brian Sattaur who hammered 41 from 64 balls with four fours and a six to spearhead the hosts to 184 all out from 40 overs in a match which was reduced to 41 overs due to a stoppage for rain.
Gareth Henry (3-30) and Odean Smith (2-29) were the main wicket takers for Jamaica, who were set a revised target of 175 in 30 overs after another shower during the break.

Only Shahid Crooks (34) offered any resistance to the Guyana bowlers while horrendous running between the wickets contributed to the Guyana cause with three batsmen being run out as Jamaica could only manage 107-9 innings closed from 29.3 overs with Mark Parchment being unable to bat due to injury.

Balchand Baldeo (2-22), Daimon Waldron (1-23) and Steven Sankar (2-31) impressed with the ball for the hosts who maintained the lead in the competition with their fourth consecutive win.
Jamaica won the toss and invited Guyana to bat in hazy sunshine on a flat track and a lush green outfield and quickly lost Tagenarine Chanderpaul (4) at 8-1 when the left-hander drove at one that spun across him from off-spinner Ramaal Lewis and skied a catch to point.

Sattaur joined fellow left-hander Hetymer and with attacking stroke play, settled into a steady groove with Sattaur going after Lewis and dumping him into the Rohan Kanhai stand before whipping fast bowler Oshane Thomas disdainfully to the backward square boundary.

Berbician Hetymer played and missed a few times with impetuous shots before ‘opening up’ and brutally pulling Lewis to the deep mid-wicket ropes and Jamaica, the most successful team in the competition with six titles and two in the last two years, were on the back foot.

Sattaur rocked back and savagely pulled spinner Ryon Burnett for four before hammering one back past the bowler which nearly took his head off on its way the sightscreen even as the pugnacious Hetymer continued to play injudiciously.

The partnership flourished with Sattaur playing the dominant role. The 50 came in 11 overs and Hetymer grew in confidence as his innings progressed. A couple of exhilarating back-cuts of spinner Nicholas Walters were out of the top drawer.
However, Sattaur, when seemingly set for his first fifty of the tournament, was run out in the 21st over with the score on 97 after facing 64 balls and reaching the ropes four times while clearing it once.

The in-form Kemo Paul, looking for his fourth consecutive fifty, joined the well entrenched Hetymer, who was dropped off Smith on 46. He soon reached his 50 from 64 balls with four fours and Hetymer, who scored his lone 50-over in 2012 against the Windward Islands in Barbados, promised something special in ideal batting conditions.

Hetymer was again dropped at mid-on off Smith on 62 and along with Paul, batted fluently as Jamaica, one of the better fielding teams in the competition, wilted under the pressure and became quite ragged.
Paul (7) was bowled by Burnett at 131-3 to bring ‘live-wire’ Askay Homraj to the crease before rain stopped play after 31 overs with Guyana on 142-3.
Hetymer, who has played a solitary First-Class game and also scored a three-day under-19 ton against the Windwards at Everest last month, was well set on 71.

When play resumed at 14:00hrs with dark clouds hovering over the City, Homraj (9) was clean bowled by Henry at 147-4.
Hetymer tried to score quickly to try to reach his ton before the rain returned but he only added four to his 71 before he crashed a catch to cover off Smith to leave Guyana on 153-5. It was soon 154-6 when Renaldo Mohamed (3) was removed by Smith as the Guyanese played with little thought process, since losing fewer wickets would have been advantageous to the team batting first.

Kemol Savory (3) was then run out while Sharaz Ramcharran (15) was bowled by Henry to leave the score on 174-8 as the erratic batting continued unchecked, as did Jamaica’s poor fielding.
Baldeo (9) was run out before Waldron (1) edged Henry to Keeper in the space of a run and Guyana were bowled out with six balls left in their innings.

When the teenagers from the land of Wood and Water began their reply they lost Leroy Lugg for a duck as Baldeo struck in the first over.
Odaine McCatty (8) was run out at 9-2 before Crooks dumped Baldeo for six and repeated the shot against Waldron. The difference was that the second shot landed on Regent Street and along with Burnett the pair took the score to 69 before Crooks was run out for 34 and Burnett (14) was bowled by Waldron as two wickets tumbled at 69.

From there Jamaica never really tried to win the match as the asking rate escalated and wickets continued to fall at regular intervals although Smith, who thumped Sankar for three consecutive sixes, entertained the spattering of spectators towards the end in his shot filled 19.

The penultimate round is set for tomorrow when Guyana travel to Albion in Berbice to face the Windward Islands while Jamaica draws the bye.