WICB Four-Day Franchise Cricket …Cornwall grabs career best 7-96 for Hurricanes but Jaguars still on course for victory

Feb 15, 2015 Sports

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By Sean Devers in Antigua
In Association with Western Union,
John Fernandes Ltd & Meet Your Match
Dating Service

The Leeward Islands bowlers toiled long and hard in sweltering heat on the second day of their sixth round West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Four-Day Franchise cricket match against the Guyana Jaguars yesterday at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium at North South.
By the end of the day the Jaguars, led by an 84-run second wicket partnership between Skipper Leon Johnson (48) and Rajendra Chandrika (83), were dismissed for 267 in reply to the 139 made by the Hurricanes to give them a lead of 128 runs and still in control at the halfway stage with the Leewards in their second innings on 36-1 after losing Austin Richards (14) who inexplicable played no shot to Narsingh Deonarine and was bowled at 28-1.
A good fight back in the final session saw the Jaguars losing their last five wickets for 53 runs as burly off-spinner Rakeem Cornwall destroyed the Jaguars with a career best 7-96 and got support from leg-spinner Hayden Walsh who had 2-79.
Sherwin Peters (22) and night watchman Quinton Boatswain (0) survived to the end with still 92 runs to get and two entire days for the Jaguars to get nine wickets and if needed, chase a victory target.

The Jaguars began the day on 14 without loss in reply to the 139 made by the Hurricanes and watched by another disappointing turn out on a flat track Singh and Chandrika built a solid foundation for their team.
The usually compact but sedate Singh out-scored Chandrika as the opening partnership progressed without much bother with both batsmen looking very settled.
Singh drove teenage pacer Jeremiah Louis sweetly through cover for four before a pugnacious pull for the seventh boundary of the innings when Peters pitched short to bring up the 50 in 91 minutes off 107 balls.
But with the score on 55 Singh edged Cornwall to slip after making 23 from 94 minutes and 57 balls with two boundaries to bring to the crease Johnson, who made 110 the last time he played at this ground last year in a losing cause.
Together the pair tucked into the bowling with increasing relish under a clear blue sky and with a nice cool breeze stretching out the Guyana, Antigua & Barbuda and the Leeward Islands Cricket

Association flags on the Eastern Stand, which like the other stands, remained virtually empty all day.
Johnson was soon into his stride and pounced on Cornwall like a cat upon a mouse and disdainfully dumped him over the mid-wicket boundary and the Hurricanes bowlers were fast being made to look impotent.
Johnson drove Cornwall to the cover boundary while Chandrika caressed Peters for four down the ground with consummate ease and batting had become as easy as taking candy from a baby.
The 100 was posted in 220 balls and 155 minutes and Johnson celebrated the land mark by clobbering Cornwall back over his head for six before depositing the off-spinner for another six just before Lunch.
Chandrika reached his fourth fifty from 127 balls, 168 minutes and his classy innings was decorated with six fours to stamp his authority on his return to the team after missing the last game suffering from Gastro.
Chandrika tucked Boatswain neatly off his legs for four and looked rock solid and along with his captain who oozed confidence, took the Jaguars to Lunch on 137-1, needing just three runs for first innings points. Chandrika was on 59 and Johnson on 47 and their team large and in charge in Leewards’ own back yard.
After Lunch Johnson was caught and bowled by Cornwall when two short of his 22nd fifty at this level after batting for 95 minutes, facing 97 balls aided by four fours and three sixes. His demise left the score 144-2 and broke the 89-run partnership.
Deonarine, who missed the last match in Jamaica due to the ‘flu’ and is one of only three batsmen with 300 runs in this tournament, joined Chandrika who was soon taken at mid-off, driving at Cornwall at 182-3.  His 83 lasted 226 minutes, 182 balls and included 11 fours.
Peters produced the ball of the match to remove Chanderpaul, the most capped West Indian Test player when the ball, pitched just short of a good length reared viciously at the veteran left-hander who could do very little to prevent the ‘nasty lifter’ which came ‘out of the blue’ from touching his glove for Cornwall to hold a good catch over his head at slip.
Chanderpaul’s dismissal came at 202-4 after he had contributed just 11 runs as the Leewards fought back in the second session before Cornwall, who extracted prodigious bounce and turn, sent back Deonarine (32) at 214-5 as the Jaguars scored 80 runs and lost five wickets in the post Lunch session.
Although the hosts were handicapped by the loss of their leading wicket taker Gavin Tonge, Peters bowled an immaculate line and length to the left-handers while Cornwall attacked from the other end and by Tea the Jaguars were 217-5 with all-rounders Chris Barnwell and Raymond Reifer at the crease.
After Tea the Jaguars suffered a dramatic collapse as Barnwell (25), Reifer (16) and Anthony Bramble (0) all departed with the score 253 before Walsh got rid of Bishoo (2) and Permaul, who hit three fours in his 12 was removed by Cornwall who gave his team a glimmer of hope of saving the game.

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