A 10-wicket match haul from Barbados Pride’s part time off spinner Roston Chase failed to prevent the Guyana Jaguars from extending their unbeaten streak to 14 when they held on for a draw in their seventh round PCL Four-Day cricket match which ended at the Kensington Oval yesterday.
Raymon Reifer held his nerves to see Jaguars to a draw
The 23-year-old Chase who has 496 runs in this tournament had never taken a five-wicket haul at this level before this game. Yesterday the Jaguars were set 405 for an improbable seventh victory from as many games this season, but in the end they finished on 252-7 despite a couple of five-wicket hauls from the tall, lanky Chase. Man-of-the Match Chase followed up his 5-27 in the first innings with 5-77 yesterday but a 92-run opening stand between Test batsman Rajendra Chandrika (49) and Tagenarine Chanderpaul (69) give them a solid foundation. Skipper Leon Johnson (50) added 67 important runs with Chanderpaul before a 61-minute last wicket stand between Raymon Reifer (16) and Devendra Bishoo (7) ensured that the Jaguars remained without a defeat since Barbados beat them at Providence by two runs in November 2014.
Scores: Pride (274 & 320-4 dec), Jaguars (190 & 252-7).
The South American team began the day on 52 without loss, needing 353 on final day which was always going to be a difficult task even against a bowling attack missing all of its senior members since the target would have been the highest successful run chase for victory at this venue. The Jaguars holds the record by chasing down 335 last year to win by four wickets.
“We will see what happens in the first session but to get 120 in each session is not easy to do. But a draw will take us to 110 points which will be 17 more than Barbados,” Johnson said at the start of play yesterday.
The day began in sultry conditions and Chandrika got going with an imperious front foot extra cover four off Cummins before the left-handed Chanderpaul rocked and pulled medium pacer Jonathon Carter to the mid-wicket ropes and nonchalantly back over his head for six next ball. Kevin Stout pounded one short and Chandrika climbed on one leg and hooked him for four with ease, while Chanderpaul, employing a refreshingly positive mind set, danced into Jonathon Carter and smashed him for consecutive fours.
Chandrika was well set for his eighth First-Class fifty when he clipped Chase to short mid-wicket after batting for 149 minutes, 110 balls with five fours and a six, while Assad Fudadin (2) was taken at gully as Chase struck again in the space of fours runs to leave the Jaguars on 96-2.
Chanderpaul was joined by his Captain and together they continued to play their shots. Chanderpaul dumped Chase back over his head for four. His second fifty came from 177 minutes, 124 balls with six fours and a six while Johnson hit two sixes and by Lunch the Jaguars were 130-2 with Chanderpaul on 53 and Johnson on 25.
The first session produced 78 runs but after the interval Chanderpaul struggled to get the ball away and took over 70 minutes to score four runs as Cummins peppered the pair with short pitched bowling in a hostile spell on a last day track which was still good to bat on. Johnson reached his fifty from 91 balls, 109 minutes with three fours and three sixes to move to 499 runs but once again failed to convert his 26th half-century into his fourth hundred when he was caught at short mid wicket off Walsh’s leg spin to end the 67-run stand. Braithwaite replaced Chase and released the pressure as Chanderpaul lofted him for four but Chase removed the 19-year-old when he was 31 short of his maiden hundred with the total on 178-4.
The tournament’s most inform batsman Vishaul Singh, was joined by Anthony Bramble and the diminutive left-hander started confidently and used his feet nicely to the spinners. Singh one of only two batsmen with 500 runs, danced into Chase and magnificently cover drove him all along the ground with perfect placement for four before he was taken at slip for 15 to give Chase his ninth wicket in the match and leave the score on 190-5.
At Tea the Jaguars were 197-5 and at that point Guyana’s hopes of batting out the final session rested on the shoulders of Bramble and Raymon Reifer who were at the crease and the 208 more needed to win was irrelevant to both teams at that stage.
After Tea, Guyana lost Bramble (19) after he had occupied the crease for almost an hour when he was taken at leg-slip 217-6 off Chase who got prodigious bounce operating with the second new ball. But Veerasammy Permaul delightfully cut Braithwaite, who surprisingly opted to bowl with the Bajans pressing for a win and once again the pressure was released on the batsmen. Walsh took a stupendous tumbling catch running back from cover as Permaul (16) played an irresponsible shot in the first over of a new spell from Stoute as the Jaguars slipped to 238-7. Bishoo was dropped on six at slip by Chase off Braithwaite with 245-7 but that was to be the Bajans last chance to break the frustrating stand for the rest of the day. Reifer clipped Carter for four and his undefeated 16 lasted 129 minutes. He found a useful partner in Bishoo to survive to the end.
(Taken from Kaieteur News; by Sean Devers)