West Indies 4-Day Championship: Chanderpaul, Imlach stand tall after Smith’s 5-wicket haul

– Johnson ends unbeaten on 150

By Brandon Corlette

Guyana Harpy Eagles are in pole position against Jamaica Scorpions after Nial Smith’s fourth five-wicket haul in First-Class cricket. Led by Tagenarine Chanderpaul’s unbeaten 60 and Tevin Imlach’s unbeaten 50, Guyana are equipped with a lead of 301 runs heading into day three of the West Indies Championship fourth-round match.

Guyana opted to bat again, after bowling out Jamaica for 115, with the Berbice express Smith impressing again, with a steamy 5-39 in 7.5 overs.
The Guyanese started their second innings with a lead of 163 runs. However, it was a rough start as Test seamer Marquino Mindley cleaned up Guyana’s top order. At tea, Guyana reached 37-4. Matthew Nandu was bowled by Mindley for a duck, and Kemol Savory was again trapped at the crease for one.
Captain Leon Johnson, who made 150 not out in the first innings, was caught behind for two. To the naked eye, the ball looked to have hit the ground and then bounce in the keeper’s hand, but that was not the case as he was given out. Kevlon Anderson, who had a start like he did in the first innings, was bowled by Mindley for 22.

Chanderpaul and Imlach then joined forces and rebuilt the innings after Mindley’s new-ball burst. The duo took Guyana to stumps with an unbroken 105-run partnership, displaying solid batting in the last session. Chanderpaul struck nine fours in his 162-ball 60 while Imlach stroked five fours in his 50 from 92 balls.
Earlier, Guyana resumed the second day on 268-9 with skipper Johnson on 142. The Guyanese added 10 runs to their overnight score, and s Johnson added eight to his personal tally. Johnson ended unbeaten on 150 while last man Nial Smith was trapped for a duck. Mindley ended with 3-34 in 14.1 overs.

Smith bags 5
In Jamaica’s response, they were rocked by the Guyanese pacers Smith and Ronsford Beaton. The quicks made the ball talk, and Smith in particular extracted movement with the new ball. He bowled Tevin Gilzene for a duck and Test player Nkrumah Bonner for four before peeling off the edge of Test Vice Captain Jermaine Blackwood for a duck.

Beaton worked his magic on the other end with his raw pace, and he was also rewarded. Scorpions were tottering at 24-6 in 6.4 overs. Abhijai Mansingh and the veteran Derval Green added 30 runs for the seventh wicket, taking the score to 54-7 in 13.2 overs. Mansingh was caught at cover by the legend, Veerasammy Permaul for eight.
Green continued to stand tall, but he lost his partners, Ojay Shields (07) and Mindley (00) to Permaul. The extra 30 minutes was taken with Jamaica on 64-9 in 17.4 overs. Jamaica reached 103-9 at lunch. Green and Nicholson Gordon added 51 runs for the final wicket, batting for more than 17 overs, taking Jamaica to 115 all out. Smith had returned to mop up the innings, ending with 5-39 in 7.5 overs. Permaul had 3-22 in 11 overs, while Beaton had 2-22 in seven overs. Green top-scored for Jamaica with 42 from 89 balls.
In the other fixtures, in Trinidad and Tobago, Windward Islands Volcanoes are fighting back against Leeward Islands Hurricanes at Brian Lara Cricket Academy. Alick Athanaze is unbeaten on 105 and Kavem Hodge is on 85 as Windwards closed the day on 206-2 in 44 overs. Leewards had earlier posted 382-9 declared, with Kofi James scoring 107 and Karima Gore hitting 93. Sherman Lewis had 3-75 in 21.5 overs.
At Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad and Tobago are 31-2 after posting 203 all out in their first innings. Barbados made 271 all out, with Zachary McCaskie scoring 92 and Imran Khan claiming four wickets.
Matches will continue today from 10:00h Eastern Caribbean time.