Tony Becca, Contributing Editor
Guyana's Sewnarine Chattergoon on the go during his top score of 75 in the Carib Beer match against Jamaica at Chedwin Park yesterday. - JUNIOR DOWIE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
For cricket fans who love exciting stroke play, Chedwin Park was not the place to be yesterday.
For those who enjoy a battle for supremacy between batsmen and bowlers, however, the home of St. Catherine CC was definitely the place to be as the batsmen of Guyana and the bowlers of Jamaica fought for the early honours in their Carib Beer contest.
At stumps on the first day of the four-day contest, Guyana, thanks to a long, stubborn innings of 75 by opening batsman Sewnarine Chattergoon, an attractive innings of 30 by Ramnaresh Sarwan, and a solid, undefeated 48 by captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul, were 213 for four after batting for 90 overs.
Batting first on a bright and sunny day, on a slow, easy-paced pitch surrounded by a thickly grassed outfield, Guyana, up against some tight bowling by pacers Jermaine Lawson, Jerome Taylor and Daren Powell, off-spinner Chris Gayle and medium-pacer David Bernard Jr., batted cautiously throughout the day with the left-handed Chattergoon leading the way.
HANDSOME STROKES
In an innings which lasted for 314 minutes during which he faced 240 deliveries, Chatter-goon, despite spending his time playing mostly defensively as Guyana went to lunch at 54 for one off 24 overs and to tea at 133 for three off 58 overs, played a few handsome strokes and stroked four fours and hit one six a chip-and-drive over the sightscreen off off-spinner Gareth Breese.
With Guyana batting solidly if not attractively against Lawson, Taylor and Powell, Jamaica picked up their first wicket after 92 minutes in the 19th over when, in his first over, Gayle removed Krishna Arjune the right-hander driving at a slower delivery, failing to get over the ball, and going brilliantly caught by captain Wavell Hinds at short extra-cover for 13 at 38 for one.
With Chattergoon on 34 at 65 for one, escaping when he drove Breese, in his first over, low to Lawson at mid-on, Jamaica picked up their second wicket at 86 in the 43rd over when the left-handed Narsingh Deonarine, after batting for 80 minutes, facing 70 deliveries and stroking two boundaries, played forward to Breese and was caught by Tamar Lambert at silly point for 16.
With Sarwan stroking the ball nicely and hitting Breese for six over long-on, Guyana stepped up the pace and looked dangerous before, after some lovely drives stopped short of the boundary, after welcoming the return of Powell with a cut that echoed around the ground but stopped short of the backward point boundary, he went back in
GUYANA 1st Innings
| S. Chattergoon run out | 75 |
| K. Arjune c Pagon b Gayle | 13 |
N. Deonarine c Lambert b Breese 16
R. Sarwan c Breese b Powell 30
S. Chanderpaul not out 48
T. Dowlin not out 8
Extras (b11, lb3, nb9) 23
TOTAL (4 wkts, 88 overs) 213
Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-86 3-132, 4-174.
Bowling: Lawson 18-3-46-0 (nb1), Taylor 13-2-26-0 (nb3), Powell 14-5-23-1 (nb5), Gayle 15-5-36-1, Breese 12-1-41-1, Bernard 9-0-15-0, Samuels 7-0-12-0.
