A see-saw game between Guyana Jaguars and Jamaican Scorpions ended in favour of the latter, who won by 20 runs and now stand a clear chance of qualifying for the semi-finals.
Stephen Taylor hits out during his entertaining 86
Played at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Tuesday in a day/night encounter, it was a fierce battle between the two sides in a very important situation that could have a direct effect on qualification.
Batting first Scorpions were restricted to 255 all out in 49.4 overs, with Stephen Taylor (86) the principal scorer, while Raymond Reifer grabbed four wickets for the Jaguars. In reply, Jaguars fell for 235 with Assad Fudadin top scoring with 56, while Scorpions’ John Campbell collected 4-43 from 10 overs.
Jaguars’ openers, Rajendra Chandrika and Fudadin, in their second best effort in the tournament, added 34 runs for the first wicket before Chandrika was run out for 13 by Scorpions’ skipper Nikita Miller.
That did not break their momentum as Reifer (54), promoted for a third time this season, added 90 runs with Fudadin for the second wicket, before the latter was run out attempting a suicidal second run to Reynard Leveridge on the cover boundary.
It was catastrophic thenceforth, as the Jaguars lost five wickets for 41 runs, increasing the Scorpions’ chances of winning. However, a brilliant effort by Veerasammy Permaul (30) and Anthony Bramble allowed the Jaguars to claw their way back to level grounds. The duo scored rapidly in a 59-run, eight wicket partnership, until Jerome Taylor removed Permaul with 31 to get from 16 deliveries and two wickets in hand. Devendra Bishoo was also out in the 48th over.
Miller bowled the penultimate over that cost him four runs and left the Jaguars requiring 27 from the last over which was bowled by Devon Thomas. Bramble manage a six in that over, but succumbed off the third ball.
Campbell was the standout for the Scorpions with the ball to crown-off a good all-round performance that won him man of the match.
Earlier, after opting to take first strike, the Scorpions lost two early wickets to be placed at 39-2, however, an invaluable third wicket partnership between Taylor and Andre McCarthy rebuilt their team’s innings to set a competitive total.
The pair added 125 runs before McCarthy departed for 45. Taylor, who batted aggressively throughout his innings, continued batting confidently until he was run out for 86 by Leon Johnson.
With the tempo set by the third wicket partnership, it was up to the lower order batsmen to carry on from a firm foundation. However, that was not the case, but Campbell, who has been doing well since he was demoted to bat in the lower order to allow Stephen Taylor the opening position, scored 42 before he became the second victim to out via the run out route.
He formed a reliable alliance with exciting all-rounder Rovman Powell, who struck 24. After the Campbell/ Powell union was broken at 229-6, Scorpions lost their last four wickets for 26 runs, as they were dismissed for 255 in 49.4 overs.
Like he did in the previous match, and has been doing throughout the tournament, Raymond Reifer was Guyana’s most impressive bowler of the match with figures of 4-38, while Ronsford Beaton’s good showing in this year’s tournament also continued, with him accounting for two scalps.
Scorpions remain in second position with 16 points and two matches remaining, while Jaguars are placed third on 12 points with one game to go.
In the day’s first game, ICC Americas upset Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) Marooners by 72 runs at the Windward Cricket Club, Barbados. Batting first, ICC Americas scored 265 all out in 50 overs, skipper Nitish Kumar led the way with 80, while Timroy Allen 69 and Kamau Leverock 55 supported. Jermaine Levy, 4-22, and Vikash Mohan, 3-40, shared seven wickets between them.
In reply, Marooners fell for 183 all out in 43.3 overs, losing by 72 runs on the Duckworth/Lewis method. Mark Deyal scored 68, while Nikhil Dutta and Timil Patel took three wickets apiece.
Today’s game will see battle in Group A between reigning champions Trinidad and Tobago Red Force against Kent Spitfires at Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground from 9:00h, while the other match will feature home team Leeward Hurricanes against Windward Volcanoes at Coolidge Cricket Ground from 13:30h.
