Latest update December 21st, 2024 1:52 AM
Johnson leads GCC to crushing win against UG in a day
Vishal Singh
Leon Johnson
By Sean Devers
A detention period of writing on the chalkboard ‘we are not yet ready for first division cricket’ should be recommended for the University of Guyana cricket team after their humiliating defeat on Sunday in less than a day of their Demerara zone Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) National 3-day 1st division match against host GCC.
Playing virtually the identical team which participates in the Georgetown Cricket Association’s (GCA) 2nd division competition, the UG students were taught a lesson by the vastly more experienced and prepared GCC side who won by an innings and 23 runs with over 2 days to spare.
The highly gifted but badly out-of-form West Indies ODI batsman Leon Johnson hit an unbeaten 44 and took 6 wickets in the match and put team before self as he opted to declare when well poised for a fifty to push for an outright win in a day.
Left-arm spinner Raj Nanan continued his impressive work by taking 5-11 and got support from left-arm pacer Chindanand Shivram (2-12) and Johnson (2-27) as the outclassed Academics plummeted for 71 in their first innings on a slow Bourda track.
Vishal Singh
Davendra Seepersaud top scored with 28 but only Mark Stevenson (14*) of the other batsmen reached double figures.
GCC then declared at 201-2 with the in-form Vishal Singh making 60 to follow up scores of 113, 110 and 97* in his last 4 innings, while Ricardo Jadunauth (54) also notched up a half century.
Left-hander Waslim Haslim (44) also continued his good run with the bat while Johnson, who looked close to returning to top form, was unbeaten on 42 as the UG bowlers struggled to make an impression in sultry conditions.
Set 130 to make GCC bat again, UG, in their debut 3-day competition, batted even worse than they did in the first innings and slumped to 57 despite 18 from Gregory Thakardin.
Johnson’s leg-spin earned him 4-29 while off-spinner Ravi Sarwan supported with 3-10.
Wicketkeeper Tyrell Tull, who helped Guyana to win the inaugural Stanford regional 20/20 tournament in 2006, proved that he is easily the best glove man in Guyana with 4 very good dismissals at a time when Guyana is struggling to find an outstanding Wicketkeeper at the senior level.
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