CCC students teach Guyana a lesson

Win by 96 runs as South Americans suffer 2nd outright defeat

Royston Crandon drives during his highest first class score yesterday

By Sean Devers in Barbados  In association with Mike’s Pharmacy
& Trophy Stall

The Combined Colleges and Campuses (CCC) taught Guyana a lesson by handing the South Americans their second consecutive outright defeat in the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) regional four-day First-Class cricket tournament at the 3Ws Oval yesterday.
Set 319 to win, Guyana were dismissed for 222 eight minutes before tea despite a responsible 86 from West Indies batsman Narsingh Deonarine and 67 from Royston Crandon with whom he added 124 for the fifth wicket as the Guyanese, without their three Test batsmen, again faltered with the bat on a good track for batting.
Deonarine, without a century since his 136 against Barbados at Everest in 2005, batted beautifully and stroked the ball with conviction before he was last out, caught at slip 14 short of his fifth first-class century.
The elegant left-hander stroked six fours and two sixes in his classy 86 from 165 balls and 234 minutes in his losing effort as Guyana lost with over a session to spare after their innings and 147-run loss in three days in their first game in Grenada.
After three wickets tumbled for 10 runs in the morning session, Deonarine and Royston Crandon, who hit eight fours and a six in his 85-ball 67 from 119 minutes, joined forces to keep Guyana on course for victory.
Another three wickets tumbled for a run after lunch as Guyana crashed to 179-7 and nobody else reached double figures as Deonarine had to carry the batting on his own.
Austin finished with 3-50 while pacer Kevin McLean followed up his 5-49 in the first innings with 2-48. Khismar Catlin supported with 2-37 for CCC, who will play their next match against Jamaica in Barbados.
Guyana return home today and will draw the bye for the next round before traveling to Nevis and Barbados for their next two games.
Scores: CCC 265 & 300-5, Guyana 247 & 222.
Needing another 289 to win with nine wickets in hand, Guyana began the final day on 30-1 and progressed to 44 in sultry conditions before Johnson pulled a short ball from Catlin and was taken at square-leg for 26 from 30 balls.
With a minimum of 95 overs available on the final day the required run rate for victory was well in Guyana’s reach at the start of the day and the Guyanese came out looking to win the match instead of playing fro a draw.
Krishna Arjune has struggled so far this season but was just beginning to look good with two fours in his 44-ball 20 when he played no shot to a ball from McLean that jagged back a long way from outside off-stump and was comprehensively bowled to leave the score on 46-3.
McLean then separated Guyana’s most experienced pair as Guyana wobbled to 54-4 when Skipper Travis Dowlin (6) got an almost unplayable off-cutter which nearly cut him in half to find the edge through to the Keeper and CCC were on a high on their home ground.
Deonarine counter-attacked with an audacious cover driven boundary off Catlin before stroking his next delivery elegantly down the ground for another delightful four and the left-hander with four Tests under his belt was beginning to look ominous.
With their top four batsmen, including Johnson and Dowlin gone, Guyana needed to consolidate and Deonarine needed substantial support.   Royston Crandon joined Deonarine as the new ball pair of McLean and Catlin; with their tails up, looking to make further inroads against a team which made 421 against them when they last played at this level last year in Guyana.
On that occasion Shivnarine Chanderpaul made an unbeaten 207, Johnson made 94 and Sewnarine Chattergoon and Ramnaresh Sarwan were also in the line-up.
Yesterday, with the Tests players unavailable and Johnson back in the pavilion, Guyana’s hopes of saving the game rested on the shoulders of the talented but inconsistent 27-year-old Deonarine.
The 25-year-old Royston Crandon, whose previous highest score at this level was 32, stroked Catlin for an audacious boundary behind point and along with Deonarine kept the scoreboard ticking with attractive batting.
The fifth wicket partnership progressed to 102 runs by lunch as both batsmen, in particular Crandon, batted attractively.  Crandon dumped Austin ‘miles’ out of the ground just before lunch and raced to his first fifty from 57 balls, 78 minutes with seven fours.
By lunch Crandon was unbeaten on 61 and Deonarine on 40 with Guyana on 156-4, and victory 166 runs away.   Watched by a small crowd which included Chairman of the West Indies selectors Clyde Butts, Guyana continued their positive run chase with Deonarine hitting the leg-spin of Skipper Simon Jackson for six.
Jackson used the innocuous medium pace of Romel Currency to frustrate the batsmen with a wide-of-the-off stump attack from one end and the attacking off-spin of Austin from the Northern end.
Royston Crandon edged a cut to the keeper off Austin at 178-6 as CCC finally broke the fifth wicket partnership. Derwin Christian drove the next ball to mid-on to leave the 27-year-old Trinidad-born Austin, who played 27 first-class matches for Barbados, on a hat-trick.
Esuan Crandon (0) missed a wild drive off his first ball, but with Deonarine well set at the other end, soon skied an irresponsible swipe at Currency to point, as Guyana slumped to 183-8.
Deonarine reached his 22nd first-class fifty with a flowing drive through cover but failed to get the type of support expected after the demise of Crandon. He lofted Currency high over mid-wicket for six to go into the 70s and bring up the 200.
Veerasammy Permaul (0) was run out attempting a suicidal second to fine-leg as Deonarine tried to keep the strike at 208-9 before Deonarine edged Austin to slip as CCC, who beat Barbados in Barbados in their inaugural first-class season last year, achieved victory in their opening match this season at 14:32hrs.