Guyana 50-over title drought continues, batsmen unsettled by extra bounce Poor starts, dropped catches and rain in Guyana did not help

Feb 16, 2017 Sports

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By Sean Devers in Barbados
Guyana has not won a Regional 50 overs title since 2005 and this year in Barbados they failed to reach the semis for the first time since 2013.
A number of factors contributed to the Jaguars not traveling to Antigua for this week’s ‘final four’ but three of the main reasons for this were poor catching, the batsmen being unsettled by the extra pace and bounce, especially against the new ball and lack of 50-over cricket in Guyana leading up to the selection of the team.
The 2016 GCB 50-over Franchise League, which would have been used to pick the team, was unfortunately washed out by the adverse weather at the beginning of the year.
Two trial matches were planned but were surprisingly cancelled and the team selected on past performances. Only one practice match was held for the team, which arrived in Barbados just a few days before the tournament commenced.
A hand injury prevented Chris Barnwell for playing the first match against Barbados, while a stiff neck kept Shiv Chanderpaul out for the same game which Guyana lost. Kraigg Braithwaite scored his maiden ton at this level while Jonathon Carter (75) supported as Barbados reached 302-7 on a hard track and lightening fast out.
All of the bowlers except off-spinner Steven Jacobs, who conceded just 29 runs from his 10 overs, bowled too many bad balls. The Jaguars fell for 157 after Shemron Hetymer (0) was removed at 1-1 to start the streak of poor opening starts.
Jaguars lost again to Jamaica despite a century from the 42-year-old Chanderpaul after Hetymer (1) had departed at 3-1. Reynard Leveridge and Jerome Taylor tested the batsmen with bouncers to take three wickets each and further exposed Guyana’s discomfort against the short stuff and despite Shiv’s 96-ball 101 the Jaguars never recovered from a precarious 14-4.
The Jaguars then defeated CCC, who they beat twice, but their only other wins were against the ICC Americas, a team they also beat twice including in their final match when Heytmer (94) and Fudadin who got his third half-century, gave Guyana a record opening stand and only their second over 50 of the entire tournament.
Guyana used both Rajendra Chandrika and Hetymer to open with Fudadin with little success and while Hetymer is only 19 and still learning about shot selection which robbed him a century in the last match, Chandrika, despite playing a few elegant shots, never looked a batsman who has played Test cricket.
While Fudadin scored 237 runs from eight innings, he mostly struggled to get the ball away and his strike rate was just 58.23. Chanderpaul got a hundred and a half century but only managed one against Barbados and 17 in the second match against Jamaica in Guyana’s two most important games and did not reach 200 runs from five innings.
Leon Johnson, who led the team well, was Guyana’s most consistent batsman with 243 and three fifties. The left-hander scored the most runs for Guyana and was one of eight batsmen to reach 240 in the entire tournament but his inability to convert good starts into hundreds could cost him a place in the West Indies team for next month’s ODI series against England.
Raymon Reifer made two fifties batting at number three in his 189 runs from six innings and has 16 wickets with his deceptive left-arm seam including two five-wicket hauls and was the best all rounder of the tournament.
Once upon a time Chris Barnwell held the position of Guyana’s best all-rounder but he has flattered to deceive at the Regional level and Reifer, who has batted all over the batting order, now holds that position.
Anthony Bramble was good with the gloves and chipped in with crucial runs as did Permaul, while Jacobs seems to have lost his ability to get decent scores but was Guyana’s most economical bowler until the last two matches when he went for plenty.
Ronsford Beaton was a bit expensive but bowled with pace and finished with 14 wickets, while Devendra Bishoo (10) and Veerasammy Permaul (12) both struggled for control and consistency in this tournament, while Paul Wintz bowled well but had limited chances. Jonathon Foo, picked for his aggressive batting, wasted his chances when he got them as was evident when he took 21 balls for eight runs against Barbados in the opening game.
Guyana will have to improve how they play on tracks with extra bounce and pace and pick horses for courses if they hope to win 50 overs titles anytime soon.
The Coach and his assistant worked hard with the team, while Johnson got help from Chanderpaul who became the Region’s leading run scorer during the tournament. He also contributed in the dressing room which adds strength to the point that he should give a younger player a chance in the middle while working as a batting mentor for the team.
Overall, the tournament saw the ‘comeback kid’ Kieron Powell blasting three (equaling Sarwan for most tons in a tournament) and two fifties in 510 runs from seven innings and along with Kraigg Braithwaite, the leading run scorer in the Barbados zone with 408 run with two hundreds and two fifties, picked themselves as openers for the series against England.
Sunil Ambris’ 426 runs with six fifties stakes a strong claim for West Indies selection while Jason Mohammed (313) and Carter (300) were the only other batsmen to reach 300.
Ashley Nurse’s 22 wickets also makes him a virtual certainty for the off-spinner’s position against England, while Jamaica’s new ball pair of Leveridge and Taylor were the quickest opening pair in the competition and both could be considered for West Indies duty in the upcoming ODI series along with the lively Alzarri Joseph who bowled with pace in the Antigua zone.

Guyana batting averages
Player Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 0 4s 6s
S Chanderpaul
6 5 2 199 101 66.33 209 95.21 1 1 0 19 3
LR Johnson
8 8 2 243 78 40.50 366 66.39 0 3 1 27 3
RA Reifer
8 6 0 189 67 31.50 269 70.26 0 2 0 18 3
AB Fudadin
8 8 0 237 57 29.62 407 58.23 0 3 0 19 3
A Bramble
7 4 0 105 39 26.25 128 82.03 0 0 0 7 4
SO Hetmyer
4 4 0 100 94 25.00 97 103.09 0 1 1 11 4
R Chandrika
6 6 1 107 43* 21.40 185 57.83 0 0 0 15 0
V Permaul
8 4 0 82 32 20.50 79 103.79 0 0 0 4 4
CD Barnwell
7 6 3 50 29* 16.66 76 65.78 0 0 1 1 2
RR Beaton
7 4 3 12 7* 12.00 21 57.14 0 0 0 1 0
SA Jacobs
8 4 0 36 19 9.00 60 60.00 0 0 0 4 0
JA Foo
2 1 0 8 8 8.00 18 44.44 0 0 0 0 0
D Bishoo
7 4 1 8 6* 2.66 15 53.33 0 0 1 1 0
PG Wintz
2 – – – – – – – – – – – –
Guyana bowling averages
Player Mat Inns Overs Mdns Runs Wkts BBI Ave Econ SR 4 5 Ct St
SA Jacobs
8 8 77.0 6 263 5 2/27 52.60 3.41 92.4 0 0 5 0
V Permaul
8 8 75.0 3 297 12 3/19 24.75 3.96 37.5 0 0 3 0
CD Barnwell
7 6 28.0 0 126 3 2/45 42.00 4.50 56.0 0 0 3 0
D Bishoo
7 7 61.5 2 284 10 3/28 28.40 4.59 37.1 0 0 1 0
RR Beaton
7 7 60.2 3 282 14 4/28 20.14 4.67 25.8 1 0 3 0
RA Reifer
8 8 64.2 2 315 16 4/38 19.68 4.89 24.1 2 0 2 0
PG Wintz
2 2 17.0 1 84 2 1/41 42.00 4.94 51.0 0 0 1 0
JA Foo
2 1 3.0 0 18 0 – – 6.00 – 0 0 0 0
A Bramble
7 – – – – – – – – – – – 6 0
S Chanderpaul
6 – – – – – – – – – – – 2 0
R Chandrika
6 – – – – – – – – – – – 1 0
AB Fudadin
8 – – – – – – – – – – – 2 0
SO Hetmyer
4 – – – – – – – – – – – 4 0
LR Johnson
8 – – – – – – – – – – – 6 0

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