Bramble, Johnson hit half- centuries to resist Volcanoes

CWI/PCL Regional 4-Day Championships…

Story and Photos by Brandon Corlette

The Guyana Jaguars and the Leeward Islands Volcanoes played to a draw on the fourth and final day of their seventh-round clash in the CWI/PCL Regional 4-Day Championships at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence.

Anthony Bramble (69) and Leon Johnson (63) each scored a half-century to see the Jaguars declaring on 228-8 after posting a 110-run lead. Hurricanes were then required to post 111 from 12 overs for the victory, but the match ended with the visitors on 33-1 when the overs expired.
Hurricanes had earlier resumed play on the final day on 355-7, with a 94-run lead. Raymon Reifer got the first breakthrough of the morning when he removed Jeremiah Louis for 11 with the score at 264-8.
Sheeno Berridge was sidelined with an injury, which meant Jaguars required just nine wickets to close the innings. Veerasammy Permaul capped off the innings with his fourth wicket when he trapped Kian Pemberton for a duck.
The Hurricanes unit had a lead of 117 runs, and Permaul ended with 4-98 while Reifer had 3-83. Gudakesh Motie, who picked up his 100th first class wicket on day three, ended with 1-63.
In reply, Rahkeem Cornwall took matters into his own hands by removing the first three Jaguars batsmen.

He bowled Tevin Imlach for a second time in the match, this time for a golden duck; and it quickly became 21-2 when Tagenarine Chanderpaul failed again, scoring just four from 40 balls before being trapped by his nemesis Cornwall. Vishaul Singh, another leg-before victim, fell to the same bowler for 17, with the score at 24-3. Senior batsmen Leon Johnson and Christopher Barnwell joined forces and took the score to 72-3 at lunch without further hiccups. But after the lunch interval, the pugnacious Barnwell was caught behind for 40 off Pemberton, ending a 73-run partnership with the close of his innings, which had spanned 79 minutes and lasted for 61 balls.

Anthony Bramble and Johnson then played some delightful shots, with Bramble in particular being brutal in his batting. The duo took advantage of the below-par Hurricanes’ fielding to see the Jaguars reach tea at 181-4.
Johnson reached his fifty in 110 balls after batting for 147 minutes, but looking set for a big score, he was removed for an eye-catching 63 from 141 balls, which included ten fours. Johnson’s run-tally this season now stands at 460.
Bramble reached his milestone half-century with back-to-back boundaries after facing 68 deliveries over the course of 82 minutes, and departed with Jaguars on 207-6. The wicket-keeper/batsman’s 111-ball 69 included eight fours.
Kevin Sinclair, who continued a poor run of form with the bat at this level, made eight runs, while Reifer remained unbeaten on 11. Permaul’s wicket was taken with the score at 228-8 in 75.5 overs, after which the Jaguars declared with a lead of 110.
Bowling for Hurricanes in the second innings, Cornwall ended with 3-99 in 32 overs, while medium-pacer Keacy Carty had 2-28 in his 11 overs.
The Jaguars’ declaration meant the Hurricanes required 111 from the final 12 overs; but as the Jaguars, with their seamers, sought to make inroads into the Hurricanes’ batting lineup with the intention to score extra points, Hurricanes openers Montcin Hodge and Kieran Powell stood their ground in firm defiance of the figurative felines.
That was until Nial Smith got the breakthrough. He trapped Hodge at the crease for 10, with the score at 25-1. Kieran was not out on 12, while Ross Powell ended on five.
Jaguars will play their next match against Barbados Pride, who suffered a 148-run defeat against Red Force. The Pride/ Jaguars clash will be a day/night encounter that commences each day at 14:00h over the period March 12-15 at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.