Guyana aiming to improve at home as Bajans hunt 1st title since 2007

Feb 12, 2010 Sports

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By Sean Devers
Strengthened by the availability of top West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, struggling Guyana has now lost the services of Vice-Captain Assad Fudadin as they prepare to battle Barbados from today at Albion in the 5th round of the 2010 Regional 4-Day cricket tournament.
A GCB release informed that Reon King and Analyst Robin Singh would lend support to Ravindra Seeram in what many feel is a positive move by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) to halt the poor run of the last-placed Guyana side.
But Fudadin’s unavailability due to a finger injury and the fact that King will no longer journey to Berbice puts enormous pressure almost squarely on the 35-year-old Chanderpaul in this game.
While Barbados are 3 points behind leaders and 2-times defending champions Jamaica (36 points) and still in contention of lifting their first title since 2007 and 5th in the last decade, Guyana, who drew with Trinidad and Tobago and suffered successive defeats against Jamaica and CCC, have 7 points are no longer in the running for their first title since 2002.
The selectors yesterday omitted the Fudadin, National U-19 Skipper Anthony Bramble and West Indies under-19 pacer Keon Joseph from the 17-man squad which practiced in Berbice this week. The inclusion of Chanderpaul and Zaheer Mohamed means Guyana will turn up today with a 14-man squad instead of the 13 that formed the squad for the ‘away’ matches.
Still without injured Skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan and West Indies batsmen Narsingh Deonarine and Travis Dowlin, the West Indies trio of Chanderpaul, Skipper Sewnarine Chattergoon and Royston Crandon will need to bat well if Guyana are to put up an improved batting performance in their first game this season in home conditions.
If Chanderpaul, who missed the first 3 matches due to a finger injury sustained last December during the Test series in Australia gives the batting ammunition, dismissing Barbados twice on what is anticipated to be a placid track could be Guyana’s biggest problem.
The Albion track is not expected to favour the genuinely quick Brendon Bess and the spin pair of left-armer Veerasammy Permaul and leg-spinner Davendra Bishoo will need to lift their game after below-par performances this season. Esuan Crandon has worked hard with the new ball while Chris Barnwell is a good fast bowling option.
Chattergoon struggled after his half-century in the opening round in Antigua and along with 20-year-old Rajendra Chandrika will hope to give Guyana a solid foundation for Chanderpaul, Royston Crandon, Vishaul Singh and his unrelated namesake Gajanand Singh to build on.
Only Deonarine (184) has more runs than Chandrika (182) for Guyana and if he can improve his concentration, he has the ability to entertain what should be the biggest crowd of the season marred by poor spectator support.
Derwin Christian has done well behind the stumps but will need some runs and if he and Esuan Crandon can play their natural game for a prolonged period and Bishoo and Permaul chip in, Guyana could post a challenging total against a team which registered a sensational victory against the Windwards in their last game after a poor start in Jamaica against the Leewards. While Guyana’s West Indies under-19 pair of Trevon Griffith and Joseph will have to wait for their First-Class debuts, Barbados have included all 3 of their players who helped the West Indies to 3rd place in the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand.
Kraigg Braithwaite and Jason Holder have already played First-Class cricket while wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich has gained his place as much for his batting as his work with the gloves as Patrick Browne, who had a good match behind the stumps in the last round, loses his place.
The experienced Ryan Hinds continues to do well at this level and only Denesh Ramdin who scored 2 tons this season in 340 runs, has more than his 334 runs and a lot will depend on him with both bat and ball at Albion.
Jason Haynes and Kirk Edwards are among only 5 batsmen with 300 runs this season while Dale Richards has scored 284 runs for Barbados.
Many will want to see 17-year-old Braithwaite who posses a ‘Chanderpaul-like’ temperament, while Kevin Stoute and former West Indies under-19 Captain Shamarh Brooks will also hope for good scores against Guyana.
With Fudadin (155) and Chattergoon (152) being the only Guyanese apart from Deonarine and Chandrika with 150 runs this season, left-arm pacer Pedro Collins, Barbados’ leading wicket taker with 18 scalps, could be confident of more success even on a placid surface.
While Tino Best is quick and aggressive and Holder and Stoute are competent medium pacers, the Bajan spinners; Test left-armer Sulieman Benn, Hinds and Brooks could do a lot of work for Barbados.
If Chanderpaul, the only batsman to score a regional First-Class triple century since the 1960s finds top form and the young guns offer support, the Bajans could spend plenty of time chasing leather at a venue which hosted the first ever ODI in the West Indies in 1977.
The last time the 2 teams met, Barbados took first innings points in a drawn game at Providence after Royston Crandon’s maiden century saw Guyana to 334 as nobody else reached 30. Stout hit a brilliant 186 and Hinds an even ton as the visitors replied with 396.
A 2nd innings 111 from Chattergoon saw Guyana to 360. Barbados then reached 67-1 in their 2nd innings.
Today’s match is scheduled to commence at 10:00hrs and the Umpires are Jamaican Norman Malcolm and Trinidadian Khemraj Barrasingha.
Teams: Barbados: Ryan Hinds, Dale Richards, Jason Haynes, Kraigg Braithwaite, Kurt Edwards, Shamarh Brooks, Jason Holder, Shane Dowrich, Kevin Stout, Pedro Collins, Corey Edwards, Sulieman Benn, Tino Best
Guyana: Sewnarine Chattergoon, Rajendra Chandrika, Chris Barnwell, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Assad Fudadin, Royston Crandon, Derwin Christian, Gajanand Sing, Davendra Bishoo, Veerasammy Permaul, Brendon Bess, Trevor Benn, Zaheer Mohamed.

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