NAGICO Super50 …Crandon hits 68 in heart-breaking loss as Shillingford blast Volcanoes into semis

Jan 14, 2016 Sports

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In a match of fluctuating fortunes, the Windwards Volcanoes beat the Guyana Jaguars by two wickets in a heart-breaking last over win in the fourth round of the NAGICO Super50 match at Warner Park last evening in St Kitts to provide

the Volcanoes (14 points) with a spot in the semis in Trinidad.
With eight to win from the final over, Shane Shillingford clobbered Royston Crandon out of the ground before smashing him for four as the Volcanoes won with three balls to spare in spectacular fashion.
The 32-year-old Crandon, who scored a debut century against the Windwards in Grenada in 2007, played responsibly as he spearheaded the Jaguars to 209-9 in 50 overs with a fighting 68, his second 50-over half-century.
The Berbician shared in three important partnerships, adding 45 with Steven Jacobs (27) for the seventh wicket, 46 with Veerasammy Permaul (12) for the eighth and 65 from 57 balls with Paul Wintz (38*) for the ninth to rescue the Jaguars from a precarious position of 25-5.
Mervin Matthews (2-31), Kyle Mayers (2-44) and Shane Shillingford (2-22) bowled well for the Volcanoes, who responded with 210 off 49.3 overs.
Sunil Ambris (56) and Liam Sebastien (27) shared in a half-century stand before Shillingford (21) and Keron Cottoy (23) snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with explosive hitting to put together 54 in last 24 balls of a thrilling contest.
Veerasammy Permaul (2-26), Wintz (2-16) and Crandon (2-26) were the most successful Jaguars’ bowlers before two sixes in the 48th over bowled by Crandon and cost 17 reduced the target to eight from six balls. This was after the penultimate over was bowled by Raymon Refier and cost 10 runs.
Shillingford clobbered Crandon out of the ground before smashing him for four in the last over to condemn the Jaguars to their second heart-breaking loss in the competition following their one-run defeat to the same team on D/L system in the opening round.
The Jaguars were asked to bat on a good track in scorching heat and began in horrendous fashion when Assad Fudadin, Guyana’s leading batsman in the tournament, was caught by Tyrone Theophile, looking to steer Matthew before they had scored.
Matthew also removed Anthony Bramble at 7-2 and when Guyana’s most experienced batsman Shiv Chanderpaul was caught off Mayers for three the Jaguars were in dire straits at 7-3.

With Matthew and Mayers getting prodigious movement, Vishaul Singh (5) was trapped leg-before as he tried to work a full ball to the leg side off a pumped up Myers, with Guyana on 16-4.
Reifer (3) was yorked by Johnson Charles and at 25-5 the handful of fans in the stands were expecting an early night.
Skipper Leon Johnson stroked a fluent 29 before he was trapped LBW to Shillingford and at 50-6 the Jaguars were badly wounded and desperately looking for a place to hide from the erupting Volcanoes.
Crandon, who played his only ODI match in South Africa in 2009, was playing one of his better innings and along with Jacobs, were in the middle of ‘operation rebuild’ when Jacobs (27) hit a return catch to Liam Sebastien in the 31st over to leave the Jaguars on 95-7.
The hallmark of their partnership was the excellent running between the wickets and dispatching any loose deliveries.
It is said that a Jaguar is at its most dangerous when wounded and the 100 was posted off 196 balls as the Jaguars clawed their way back into the fray.
Permaul was caught in the deep off Shillingford at 141-8 to break the eight-wicket stand but the Jaguars were not going down without a brawl. Wintz played some delightful shots and brought up the 200 with a brutal pull off Sebastien for four.
The DCC seamer, who hails from Berbice launched into Sebastian in the penultimate over which cost 18, as the Volcanoes struggled to polish off the tail before Crandon was run out off the fifth ball of the last over.
When the Islanders began their run chase they began pugnaciously with Andre Fletcher and Charles going after the bowling of Wintz and Permaul.
But Charles (5) who started with boundary off Permaul threw his wicket away with an impetuous drive off Wintz and was taken at third man at 19-1 in the third over.
Devon Smith, who made 91 the last time these teams met, edged Wintz to the Keeper after making three and Wintz was following up his good evening with the bat with impressive work with the ball as the Volcanoes slipped to 25-2 in the third over.
Fletcher (19) was bowled by Permaul at 29-3 and with the three West Indies batsmen all back in the pavilion the Jaguars were back in the game. The runs dried up and Miles Bascombe succumbed to the pressure and ran himself out at 34-4.
Theophile and Sunil Ambris took the score to 68-5 before Theophile (25) hit a full toss back to Jacobs, but Ambris (56) and Sebastien (27) kept hopes alive and their sixth wicket partnership set up the exhilarating finish from their ninth wicket pair.
Guyana Jaguars remain on 10 points and play CCC Marooners in their next match at Warner Park tomorrow from 13:30 hrs.

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