Regional four-day cricket ...Fudadin hits 71 as Guyana labour to 209-6

Regional four-day cricket …Fudadin hits 71 as Guyana labour to 209-6

Mar 22, 2014 Sports

By Sean Devers in Barbados
In Association with Star Party Rentals &
Payless Variety Store
Assad Fudadin hit a painstaking 71 from 259 minutes and 209 balls, to lead another sluggish Guyana batting performance in their Day/Night fourth round Regional four-day cricket encounter against the Combined Colleges and Campuses (CCC) yesterday at the 3Ws Oval here in Barbados.

Assad Fudadin evades a bouncer during his top score so far for Guyana.

Guyana’s batting again lacked spark with the visitors crawling to 209-6 from 90 overs, batting out the entire first day in which 440 dot balls were bowled. Kevin McClean took 2-36 and Raymon Reifer 2-35 for the Bajan based team.
The home team, who beat Guyana the last three times they played at this venue, won the toss and asked Guyana, who surprisingly dropped fast bowler Keon Joseph, to bat on a track with a lot more bounce than the one at Providence.
In a game that Guyana must win to stay in the race for a place in the semi-finals, the Guyanese openers laboured to 44 without loss in 120 minutes of batting by Lunch in one of the most boring opening sessions of a First-Class match in recent times.
Although Fudadin hit the only six in the first session in the 20th over and also reached the ropes three times before lunch, he faced 110 balls for his 32, while the 17-year-old Chanderpaul struggled to get the ball off the square in his 73-ball eight by the interval.
There was virtually nobody watching and the few at the ground had to endure a total lack of entertainment as the openers hit most of the balls bowled to them directly to the fielders as they failed miserably to manipulate the balls into the gaps with 15 maidens bowled before Lunch.
After Lunch, young Chanderpaul, who was forced to duck out of the way from a vicious short ball from Kesrick Williams, got himself bogged down and edged off-spinner Ryan Austin to the keeper as CCC finally made the break-through four minutes after lunch at 44-1.
Skipper Leon Johnson, back in the team after a knee injury forced him out of Guyana’s first three games, arrived at the crease in twilight with the lights now taking effect and played with refreshing positivity.
Johnson’s positive approach seemed to rub off on Fudadin who changed gear after the 50 took 35 overs and 136 minutes to be posted.
The 28-year-old Fudadin, who has played three Tests and scored three tons at this level, mixed caution with careful aggression and reached his 18th First-Class fifty and second for the season. His sedate innings included four fours and two sixes. But just after the 50 partnership was posted, Johnson, who played some lovely shots, hit five fours in his 73-minute innings of 31 which lasted 60 balls.
After the 100 was posted in 196 minutes from 47.4 overs Johnson, one of the six left-handers in the top order, was bowled by left-arm pacer Raymond Reifer at 105-2.

Taignarine Chanderpaul ducks out of the way from a Kesrick Williams bouncer.

Narsingh Deonarine has nine First-Class matches in his career but he also has four ducks this season and yesterday he seemed intent on getting a big score as he joined the dogged Fudadin and together they carried the score to 124-2 by Tea with their carefully constructed partnership. Fudadin was on 65 and Deonarine on six.
After Tea, under lights which seemed a bit too low for a game at this level and with a pink ball that made sighting it a bit difficult, Guyana continued to score at less than pedestrian pace before Fudadin again wasted another solid start when he gloved a hostile bouncer to the keeper, trying to take his head out the way, as Guyana slipped 137-3.
Deonarine (19) was then bowled through the gate as he pushed forward as his wretched form continued and the South Americans who won their last two matches over the last two years, slipped to 150-4.
Veteran 39-year-old Shiv Chanderpaul joined 20-year-old Chanderpaul Hemraj, playing in his fourth First-Class match after making his debut in 2012. Together they continued to frustrate the fans and the opposition with their ultra defensive tactics.
Chanderpaul then held up the match to ensure the Volleyball players on the Hard Court to the left of the sightscreen turn off the lights and stop their practice because of the distraction it was causing him.
Hemraj, who faced 49 balls and batted for six minutes over an hour for a painstaking 11, gloved a nasty short ball from Kevin McClean to be taken head high, down the leg-side to leave Guyana on 162-5.
Chanderpaul, the most capped West Indies Test player, took 57 minutes and 29 balls for his eight before he inside edged Raymond Reifer onto his stumps as Guyana catapulted to 169-6.
The second new ball was taken after 81 overs at Chanderpaul’s dismissal and Chris Barnwell, who was dropped off Williams on 19 at 185-6 in the 86th over, remained to the end unbeaten on 22. With him was Anthony Bramble on 20 as Guyana got their second batting point for the season when they reached 200 last night as the match ended at 10:28hrs.
Today is the second day and play is scheduled to commence at 15:00hrs.
Meanwhile, in scores from the Jamaica vs Windwards match –
Windwards 56/4 (stumps): Theophile 23*, Currency 0*, Lesporis 4, Peters 0, Ambris 23 Smith 1: Wkts: Merchant 2, Taylor 1, Bernard 1.
Jamaica 194: Baugh 56*, Campbell 18, Blackwood 36, Bonner 38, Bernard 29
Wkts: Johnson 2/41, Sebastien 2/23, Pascal 1/44, Shillingford 4/61, Peters 1/20.