Guyana Jaguars opener Shimron Hetmyer cracked a ton while Anthony Bramble and Sherfane Rutherford smashed fifties, piloting the national side to a 167-run win over the Rest XI in their solitary practice match at Providence ahead of the Regional Super50 which begins on Tuesday January 30 in Barbados.
Hetmyer, fresh off the Windies’ tour of New Zealand, carved 101 off 107 deliveries with 14 fours and two sixes while belligerent fifties; 86 from national wicketkeeper Anthony Bramble and 74 from all-rounder Sherfane Rutherford propelled the Jaguars to 386-8 in 50 overs batting first.
In the end, the mammoth total proved too much for Barnwell’s men who could only muster 219 from 39 overs with skipper Chris Barnwell the main contributor with 48. West Indies Test spinner Davendra Bishoo ended with 3-28 while Veerasammy Permaul and Sherfane Rutherford ended with two wickets each.
The Rest team XI started off wobbly during the mammoth chase despite a positive approach from Robin Bacchus who smacked two sixes in his 18-ball 20 before Keemo Paul trapped his lbw.
Romario Shepherd, another of Guyana’s promising fast-bowling all-rounders removed his national teammate Tagenarine Chanderpaul for just five runs as pressure mounted.
Former West Indies Under-19 wicketkeeper/batsman; Tevin Imlach hit a four and a six before Permaul foxed him into getting stumped for 16. The hard-hitting Jonathan Foo looked ominous for a short time but was halted by Permaul for 15, making situations worse for Barnwell’s XI.
Guyana Amazon Warriors T20 batsman Gajanand Singh batted decently for 17 before he hit Bishoo down the throat of Ricardo Adams in the deep for 16. Kemol Savory followed next, bowled by Bishoo for 17 as the remaining batters; Clinton Pestano 23, Kevon Boodie 15 and Ramaal Lewis 16, were the men to go as the innings came to end.
Earlier, after Jaguars 50 over selectee Pestano claimed his only wicket of the match but it was that of in-form opener Chandrapaul Hemraj who went for 08.
Medium-pacer Paul Wintz continued his impressive form with the ball; removing Windies Test all-rounder Raymon Reifer for two runs to put the National XI in some serious trouble.
Hetmyer then counterpunched with some tempered aggression, climbing into to the Rest Team’s bowling with some vicious strokes. The Windies batsman raced to his half-century in no time with a flurry of fours, sharing a century stand with captain Leon Johnson (24).
Sherfane Rutherford digs out a ripping Yorker from Chris Barnwell during the Guyana Jaguars warm-up match against a Rest Team at Providence
The Guyana Jaguars Captain was steady during his innings but Franchise player Ramaal Lewis who ended with 2-51, added the big prize of the National team’s captain to his collection when knocked over the skipper’s stumps.
Hetmyer on 82, continued to press on for his ton and eventually got their off just 73 deliveries with 14 well-timed fours and two big sixes. After his partner Ricardo Adams perished at the hands of Tagenarine Chanderpaul for 28. Lewis who went for roughly seven runs per over from his quota of seven; bagged the wicket of the centurion who was caught by Bacchus.
Things went berserk when the duo of Bramble and Rutherford combined forces to blast the Rest XI’s bowlers to all parts of Providence. Bramble smoked seven maximums and two fours while Rutherford was the more docile of the two, hitting eight fours and a couple of sixes in their runaway 96-run partnership which revived the Jaguars innings.
The Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) boys then teamed up to break the almost century partnership as Barnwell removed Bramble while Wintz snuffed out his Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) mate Rutherford; just as both batsmen looked set for twin centuries. But there was more carnage to follow.
Keemo Paul came and flayed the bowlers, smashing a breezy 48 not out off just 20 balls with six fours while Barnwell closed things off at the other end with the wicket of Romario Shepherd who perished for a duck as the overs expired.
In their quest for Regional 50-over supremacy for the first time since 2005, the Jaguars will wing out on Sunday morning for Antigua and Barbuda where they will battle in Group B of the 2018 Cricket West Indies Super 50. Their first match is against English county side, Kent on January 31 at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground from 09:00h.
Defending champions, Barbados Pride are in Group A in Barbados which begins in January 30 when the Windward Islands Volcanoes take on the Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners at the 3 W’s Oval.
