WICB PCL Cricket …Richards and Muhammad’s 108-run stand frustrate Jaguars

Dec 05, 2015 Sports

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After Barnwell takes 5-32 on rain hit first day  

By Sean Devers in Trinidad
In association with Noble House Seafoods,
Raj Singh Insurance Brokers & Stag Beer

A record 108-run night wicket stand between Guyanese born Marlon Richards (53) and 26-year-old pacer Uthman Muhammad, who made 53 on debut rallied Trinidad & Tobago’s Red Force from 102-8 to 210 all out on a rain affected opening day of their WICB PCL four-day First-Class Franchise fourth round cricket match against the Guyana Jaguars yesterday at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain.
An incisive spell of medium pace bowling from 28-year-old medium pacer Christopher Barnwell, who had 5-32 from 12 overs, put the Guyana Jaguars in a strong position to deny the hosts the chance of earning a batting point but Richards and Muhammad had other ideas.
Muhammad’s innings lasted 82 balls, 116 minutes and reached the boundary six times and cleared it twice while Richards occupied the crease for 126 minutes, faced 116 balls and hit three fours. There partnership lasted 111 minutes.
This was Barnwell’s third five-wicket haul at this level, while left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul (3-59) offered support as the Red Force were eventually dismissed in last session despite an all too familiar frustrating partnership by tail-enders against the Jaguars in PCL cricket.
The Jaguars, already with three bowling points in the bag, reached 9-0 by time bad light stopped play with five overs left in the day. Assad Fudadin was on two and Shimron Hetmyer on seven.

The Red Force opted to bat on a track with some early bounce and ‘carry’ and by Lunch which was taken early when rain stopped play at 11:12 hrs, the home were 33-3 with Guyanese Narsingh Deonarine yet to score and Mohamed on four.
The Jaguars, who left out Keon Joseph, Steven Jacobs and Tagenarine Chanderpaul from their team, struck in the eighth over when the Red Force, without most of their leading players for various reasons, lost talented 20-year-old Jeremy Solozano (10) when he touched left-arm seamer Bajan Raymon Reifer to the Keeper with the score on 18-1.
Opener Yannick Cariah (6) was brilliantly taken at third slip by Hetmyer off Barnwell who also trapped Bajan Kyle Hope (11) two runs later to leave to score on 29-3.
After Lunch the 32-year-old Deonarine, the Red Force’s most accomplished batsman, caressed Barnwell delightfully through extra cover for four before he executed a similar shot in Barnwell’s next over which produced similar result and Deonarine, who was born in the Berbice Village of Whim, was beginning to look threatening.
However, Barnwell tested the left-hander with 18 Tests to his name with a bouncer which Deonarine (9) got under before he edged a catch to Leon Johnson at second slip off a pitched-up delivery that moved away from the batsman to give Barnwell, back in the side after a back injury kept him out of the last round, his third wicket as the Red Force slumped to 48-4 as Barnwell celebrated the demise of his countryman gleefully.

Yannick Ottley got going with an authoritative cover driven boundary off Reifer as he and Skipper Jason Mohamed, who sliced Reifer to the backward point boundary, joined forces to repair the early damage.
But with the score on 64 and the sun returning in all its glory, the handful of die-hard fans in the Carib Beer stand watched in dismay as Ottley (8) got an inside edge onto his stumps off the impressive Barnwell.
Steven Katwaroo joined Mohamed who was gaining in confidence and played some fluent drives off the seamers.  Katwaroo was dropped on two at slip by Johnson off Permaul in his first over from the Brian Lara Pavilion end.
Mohamed caressed Ronsford Beaton sweetly through extra cover for four and repeated the shot in Beaton’s next over to move into the 30s but soon edged Permaul to slip after making 33 to leave his team on the ropes on 88-6.
It was soon 89-7 when Katwaroo (8) was LBW to Permaul as conditions again became as gloomy as the home team’s batting display.
Richards and Imran Khan ensured their team reached a three-figure score with sensible batting in overcast conditions. Khan clobbered Permaul over mid-off for four and then edged him for a couple to post the 100 in the 42nd over before Khan (10) touched a catch to the Keeper to give Barnwell his fifth wicket and leave the Red Force on 102-8.
Richards, who confidently punched Barnwell down the ground for four, was joined by Muhammad and by Tea, the Red Force were 117-8 with Richards on 12 and Muhammad on one.
In the first over after Tea Muhammad hammered Permaul for consecutive boundaries in an over that cost 11 runs as the tail-enders frustrated the visitors.
Muhammad pounced on Permaul like a cat upon a mouse and deposited him for consecutive boundaries with the last shot sailing into the Carib Beer Stand to bring up the 50-run partnership.
Richards passed his previous best of 26 against Jamaica in the last round as Muhammad galloped into the 40s with a straight six, followed by a four off Gudakesh Motie, the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 23.
An edge off of Beaton by Richards passed between the keeper and Johnson which neither made any attempt to catch as the stand flourished.
Muhammad got to a debut fifty with a four off part-time spinner Johnson while Richards who brought up the 100 with a single off Johnson, then cut Beaton for a double to reach his half-century.
Good rotation of the strike, clean hitting and aggressive running by Richards and Muhammad kept the South Americans in the field one hour and 35 minutes after Tea before Richard was taken at extra cover off Beaton at 210-9 for a well played 53 and Muhammad followed in the next over trying to hit Permaul for six over long-on.
The wonderful fight back should inspire the Red Force to think that if you feed your faith your doubt will starve to death when they resume today against the strongest batting unit in the tournament.
Meanwhile, in the game between Jamaica and the Leewards, Jamaica closed on 69-6 replying to the Leewards 164.

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