Digicel Regional four-day Cricket…Hope’s 2nd ‘double’ leads Pride to 480-3 dec

Mar 25, 2017 Sports

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Jaguars still 212 away from follow-on

By Sean Devers in Barbados
In association with Stag Beer  &
Vnet communications 

The Guyana Jaguars top order again failed yesterday after a brilliant unbeaten second double

century from 23-year-old Shai Hope lifted Barbados Pride to an impregnable position at the end of the second day of their eighth round Digicel Regional First-Class match at the Kensington Oval.
Hope, who shared in a 154-run third-wicket stand with Shamarh Brooks (67) and an unfinished 74-run fourth partnership with Roston Chase (33*), faced 391 balls, batted for 485 minutes, reached the boundary 24 times and cleared it thrice to register the highest score by a Bajan against Guyana.
Brooks’ innings lasted 198 minutes, 124 balls and included nine fours and a six, while Chase’s cameo took 43 balls with a four and a six. Romero Shepherd toiled long and hard to finish with 2-111, while left arm seamer Raymon Reifer, the Jaguars’ best bowler, took 1-99. Clinton Pestano had an inauspicious debut ending with 0-90 although he should have had Hope’s wicket.
Hope’s run-spree lifted his team to 480-3 declared at 13:51hrs and by the close the Jaguars were in a precarious position on 119-4.
The left-handed pair of Reifer (25) and Chanderpaul (15) carried their team safely to the close with an unbroken stand of 35 from 38 minutes and at stumps the South American Franchise were 112 runs adrift of the follow-on target.
Shemron Hetymer was caught at short-leg off Miguel Cummins and Rajendra Chandrika (24), who faced 52 balls, batted for 77 minutes with two fours was caught at mid-wicket off Chase when well set to bat himself back to form.
Chandrika’s two boundaries came in the same over off debutant pacer Keon Hardin; an edge boundary and a confident cut behind point, as he and his Captain Leon Johnson brought up the 50 in the 14th over before Chandrika departed at 56-2.
Johnson, who pleasantly drove Cummins to the cover boundary in his 53-ball 15, was trapped LBW to Chase as the Jaguars slipped to 64-3 as Johnson’s patchy form in year’s tournament continued.
Vishaul Singh (15) was next to go when he provided a leg-side catch to the Keeper off Kevin Stoute at 86-4 before Chanderpaul and Reifer began ‘operation rebuild’.
Earlier, on a flat track and lightening fast outfield Pride resumed on 293-2 from 94 overs with Hope on 118 and Brooks on 14 and by Lunch the pair was still together after adding 103 runs in the first session under clear blue skies with Hope on 172 and Brooks on 65, and the host 400-2.
The day began with the Jaguars looking for early wickets but that ploy soon changed to restricting the scoring by bowling wide of off stump as the Bajans put their foot on the accelerator to get as much batting points as possible in the first 110 overs.
Things got progressively worse for the Jaguars when Hope, who was dropped by Keeper Anthony Bramble on 35 off Pestano on Thursday, was again let off by the Keeper on 162 off Reifer.
The score was then 368-2 in the second over with the new ball which was taken after 112 overs and Hope made them pay dearly.
By the completion of 110 overs, Pride had raced to 357-2 as the Jaguars became the first

team in this tournament not to get a bowling point.
The third wicket stand flourished after Kraigg Braithwaite and Hope had put together 205 on the opening day and the home team collected four batting points.
Brooks stroked Shepherd for a boundary down the ground before lofting him over long-on for six off the next ball, while Hope reached 150 from 302 balls and 355 minutes with 17 fours and two sixes as the stand progressed rapidly against a bowling attack which wilted under the onslaught.
The 28 year-old Brooks, who seemed destined to play Test cricket as a youth player, soon reached his 12th fifty from 167 minutes and 102 balls with six fours and a six as he played with ‘Carl Hooper like’ elegance.
Brooks celebrated his 50 by punching Pestano for four past cover and stroking Reifer past extra cover before edging him past slip for consecutive boundaries.
Hope’s bat looked as broad as the sightscreen and he swiveled and pulled Pestano for four and smashed him to the mid-wicket boundary in the same over before a wide by Shepherd, which landed on the other pitch, brought up the 400 in 119.5 overs and the 150 partnership from 255 balls and 188 minutes and at Lunch Pride were in the ascendency.

After the interval Hope smashed Reifer imperiously through cover and struck Shepherd like a bullet past his ankles for a boundary.
However, seven minutes after Lunch, Brooks was taken at mid-on as Shepherd, who worked hard all day despite the state of the game, finally made the break-through at 404-3.
Chase joined Hope and the pair continued to flow with an array of audacious shots with Chase lofting Gudakesh Motie for six but with the score on 463-3, he was dropped by Johnson at slip off Bishoo on 26.
Hope reached his second double century thanks to a misfield from Motie at cover, from 463 minutes and 378 balls with 24 fours and two sixes and when he reached 205 he surpassed Sir Garfield Sobers and Peter Lashley to become the Bajan with highest score against Guyana.
The declaration came after Hope climbed into Bishoo and deposited him for six with him 25 short of Desmond Haynes’ 246 against the Windwards in 1993 which remains the highest score in Regional cricket by a Bajan.
Today is the third day and play is scheduled to commence at 10:00hrs.
Scores: PRIDE 480 for three decl. (Shai Hope 215 not out, Kraigg Brathwaite 143, Shamarh Brooks 67; Romario Shepherd 2-111).
JAGUARS 119 for four (Raymon Reifer 25 not out, Rajindra Chandrika 24; Roston Chase 2-26).

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