Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Mar 18, 2011 Sports
Teams go head-to-head from today
By Sean Devers in Barbados in association with Digicel, Queensway and Leisure Inn
With 33 points from five matches, Combined Colleges and Campuses (CCC) are third on the points table going into their penultimate preliminary round Regional four-day match against Guyana here at the 3Ws Oval today.
The Students, in their fourth West Indies First-Class season are only behind defending champions Jamaica (39), Trinidad and Tobago (37) and England Lions (33) from five matches. With the English team not participating in the semi-finals, CCC are virtually assured of a ‘final four’ spot since the Windward Islands (27) is the only other team in the competition with more than 16 points.
Guyana (16) lead Barbados (15) and the Leeward Islands (15) and while two outright wins could take them to 40 points the South Americans, terribly let down by their batsmen this season, will be hard pressed to qualify for the semis since they play T&T in their final game next week at Albion.
Finishing the tournament well ‘batting wise’ could be the main objective as the Guyanese aim for their first win against CCC who beat the Windwards, lost to T&T, defeated the Leewards and drew with England Lions and Jamaica.
Guyana lost to Jamaica after taking first innings points and after the Leewards game was washed out at Bourda they lost to the Windwards, drew with Barbados and England Lions in a match which they lost first innings, being dismissed for 78.
Only a little over a day’s play was possible in their last game helping them to three points and while their bowlers have performed well this season, they face CCC without two of their most experienced bowlers in leg-spinner Davendra Bishoo (West Indies duties) and pacer Esuan Crandon (not selected).
In their four previous meetings at this level CCC defeated them by 98 runs at Kensington Oval and by 5 wickets at the 3Ws Oval last year.
Guyana’s 41 against Jamaica in 1986 was their only total lower than the 78 they made against England ‘A’ in 66 years and the inability by Skipper Assad Fudadin (39 matches) and Leon Johnson (24) to score a century at this level leaves the bulk of the batting responsibility on Test left-hander Narsingh Deonarine, who missed the first four games due to an elbow injury.
Rajendra Chandrika (156), Johnson (147), Fudadin (134) and Vishaul Singh (138) are the only Guyanese with 100 runs this season while only Fudadin, Johnson and Singh has managed fifties. Richard Ramdeen could make his First-Class debut today and open with Chandrika as Fudadin, strangely used to open in the last two games, return to the middle order.
Steven Jacobs, who also bowls decent off-spin, could play his first match this season while teenage pacer Keon Joseph and off-spinner Zaheer Mohamed could be the players on the Guyana bench.
Although the track here should be quicker than those in Guyana it is not a ‘flyer’ and Ronsford Beaton should be given another chance to share the new ball with Test Pacer Brendon Bess after the Essequibian made his First-Class debut and only bowled a couple of overs against the English.
Left-arm Veerasammy Permaul could do the bulk of the bowling while Fudadin’s medium pace and the spin of Deonarine, Jacobs and Johnson could provide back up. Guyana’s last win at this level was against the Leewards in Trinidad last year and while Mark Harper has replaced Ravindra Seeram as Coach and brought a more proactive work ethic to the team, the batting results remain the same suggesting that mentally, Guyana’s young batsmen are just not ready for this level despite the talent they possess.
Bess has looked an improved bowler but still lacks consistency while 19-year-old Joseph has bowled 16 overs and 18-year-old Beaton two in the two matches between them at this level.
Guyana, with six titles at this level is no longer a regional powerhouse and now sits with the Windwards and Leewards in the bottom half of the rankings. Another outright loss to CCC could make it difficult for the Guyanese to avoid finishing last on the points standings.
CCC has shown steady improvement since they were crushed by 10 wickets by hosts Jamaica on debut in 2008 and Kyle Corbin, the compact former West Indies under-19 batsman from Barbados is one run away from 400 with four fifties and a century.
Jamaican Nkruma Bonner and Bajans Carlos Braithwaite and Raymond Reifer have scored two fifties each this season while the experienced Vincentian Romel Currency, T&T’s Kjorn Ottly and Barbadians Omar Phillips and Floyd Reifer have also notched up half-centuries this season.
Off-spinner Ryan Austin is another player with Test experience in the CCC side and their leading bowler this season with 26 scalps. Left-arm spinner Kavesh Kantasingh (16) and leg-spinner Bonner (13) should do the bulk of the spinning while Kevin Mclean, Braithwaite and Guyanese Gilford Moore should be vying for new ball duties.
The forecast is for scattered showers over the next four days and the Guyanese should hope that there is as much play as possible in order to push for a win.
Where is the BETTER MANAGEMENT/RENEGOTIATION OF THE OIL CONTRACTS you promised Jagdeo?
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