GCB/CGI 3-day Franchise league… Late afternoon wickets leave game in the balance

Sep 16, 2017 Sports, https://www.kaieteurnewsonline...game-in-the-balance/

By Sean Devers

The demise of the two set East Coast batsmen just before the close left the their game against Georgetown in the third round of the GCB/CGI three-day Franchise League in the balance at Lusignan yesterday when bad light stopped play with three overs left in the day’s play.
Two useful partnerships at opposite ends of the order rallied Georgetown to 192 all out on the stroke of Tea as off-spinner Kumar Bishundyal (4-60) and Rudolph Singh (2-30) were the main wicket-takers for East Coast.
Robin Bacchus stroked four fours and two sixes in an entertaining 36 and added 47 for the first wicket with Raymon Perez who made 22 from 73 balls with two fours before Chris Barnwell top-scored with 44 with six fours and a six from 116 balls and 83 minutes.
Paul Wintz reached the boundary four times and cleared it once in an important unbeaten 34 and shared in a 30-run ninth wicket stand with Steven Sankar who made 21 with two fours and six.
East Coast, needing to bat a minimum of 32 overs, finished the day on 102-4, 90 runs away from the City Franchise’s total.
Test batsman Rajendra Chandrika made 45 from 88 balls with five fours and got support from Chanderpaul Hemraj who stroked a cameo 38-ball 35 decorated with four fours and a six before they both fell in the dying stages of yesterday’s play.
Chandrika and former Guyana U-19 Captain Brian Sattaur (12) added 36 for the first wicket before Sattaur drove Kellon Carmichael to mid-off.
Chandrika looked his usual elegant self and cut Carmichael to the backward point boundary before, with impeccable timing, caressed him back past his ankles for four more.
Chandrika stroked Wintz delightfully to the cover boundary and when Barnwell pitched up, drove him imperiously down the ground for four, but Bhaskar Yadram was soon LBW to off-spinner Gajanand Suknanan for a duck at 50-2.
Chanderpaul Hemraj flicked Suknanan for six, swept Jamaican leg-spinner Ramaal Lewis for another six before latching on to Suknanan and lofting him over long-off for six to dominate the third wicket stand with Chandrika.
Hemraj took a liking to Lewis and smashed him over cover for a bullet-like boundary before clobbering him for six over long-off before he threw his wicket away trying hit left-arm spinner Devon Lord for another six and was well taken at deep mid-wicket by Paul Wintz at 101-3.
Hemraj was soon followed by the demise of Chandrika; caught in the deep, off leg-spinner Steven Sankar a run later in the last over of the day.
Earlier, Georgetown won the toss and elected to bat in sultry conditions on a slow and low track and heavy outfield and a handful of fans watched as National U-19 opener Perez and left-hander Bacchus provided a solid foundation for their team.
The 27-year-old Bacchus, who played his only Regional one-day game in 2014 against Jamaica in Trinidad, dominated the partnership with Perez, the leading run-scorer in this year’s regional 50-over U-19 tournament in St Kitts.
Bacchus played some delightful shots and cover-drove pacer Cordel Mars for six before stroking him effortlessly over long-off, his second six, before he pushed at one that came back from pacer Singh and got an inside edge to the keeper as Singh made the breakthrough 55 minutes into the day’s play.
West Indies U-15 Captain Sachin Singh (3) did not last long and edged Singh to West Indies U-19 Keeper Joshua Persaud to leave the score on 54-2.
Perez was joined by Barnwell who played for the Tridents in the CPL and immediately looked good in the scorching heat.
The 30-year-old Barnwell, who has 148 against the Leeward Islands in 2015 and eight fifties for Guyana from 45 First-Class matches, stroked left-arm spinner Hemraj gloriously back past him for four before smashing Bishundyal magnificently past wide mid-off for four more.
But with the score 73 Perez, who was selected to represent a Guyana Junior team in cycling as a 13-year-old before switching to cricket, was run out despite his desperate dive at the bowler’s end.
Lewis, a 21-year old with one First-Class match under his belt, was soon caught behind off Bishundyal for three at 96-4 and when Barnwell was bowled with one that turned from Bhaskar Yadram at 116-5 a few minutes before Lunch, the back of the Georgetown batting had been broken.
Lunch was taken at 117-5 with Dexter Solomon on six and Carmichael yet to score and after the interval Carmichael (4) was caught behind off Mars, 121-6, before Solomon (10) was bowled by Bishundyal at 139-7.
Lord joined Wintz and took the score to 158-8 before Lord (10) was well caught and bowled by a diving Bishundyal.
Wintz and Sankar ensured the tail wagged with some lusty hitting before Bishundyal removed Sankar to leave Georgetown on 181-9. Last man Suknanan (0) was run out as Wintz ran out of partners. Today is the second day and play starts at 09:18hrs.