Record three tons in an innings for Guyana in first match under Golden Arrow Head

May 18, 2016 Sports

By Sean Devers

As we celebrate our Golden Jubilee 50th Anniverary as an Independent nation it is important to understand history and those who made life easier for us in all aspects of nation building since May 26, 1966.
The younger generation seems not to understand the value of those pioneers who paved the way for our present success and those to come.
In our first cricket game under the Golden Arrow Head and playing as Guyana as opposed to British Guiana in the 1967 Shell Shield First-Class tournament, Guyana registered their highest ever total when they made 641-5 declared at Bourda.
Only once, in 1951 playing as British Guiana has this country made more runs in a First-Class innings when they amassed 692-9 against Barbados at Bourda in a five-day game.
Berbicians Roy Fredericks, who made his first century, Rohan Kanhai and Basil Butcher all made hundreds in the same innings.
Fredericks then became the only post Independence Guyanese batman to make two centuries in the same Regional First-Class game when he scored 115 in the second innings. Fredericks achieved the feat on two more occasions for Guyana against Australia at Bourda (1973) and MCC (1974).
Clive Lloyd against New Zealand (1972) and Solomon against T&T (1964) are the only others to score hundreds in both innings of a First-Class match for this Country.
Fredericks, a pugnacious left-hander from West Bank Berbice made a shot filled 127 and dominated a 292-run opening stand with fellow Berbician Joe Soloman (68) who passed 5,000 First-Class runs before Fredericks was removed by left-arm pacer John Bethell.
Kanhai, arguable Guyana’s best batsman, joined Solomon who batting sedately and together they added 101 runs before Solomon was run out at 393-2.
Kanhai reportedly continued to play several audacious shots but on reaching 144 he was forced to retire hurt to bring Butcher to the crease. The right hander from Port Mourant was especially severe on Richard Edwards who finished with 0-102 from 23 overs.
Butcher played like a Surgeon, carving the ball to the boundary 19 times while clearing it just once as he batted for 297 minutes in his unbeaten on 183.
Ovid Glasgow, who later served as Assistant Commissioner of the Guyana Police Force, made 29, Vincent Mayers (31) and Randolph Ramnaresh, who was bowled by Patrick Lashley for 51, all chipped in. Ramnaresh’s demise saw the declaration being made with Butcher 17 short of a double century.
Lashley scored 204 and Sir Garry Sobers made 165 as the Bajans fell for 552 as pacer Winton English capturing 4-111. Guyana were 244-5 when the game ended in a draw.
Guyana repeated the feat of three batsmen getting hundreds in the same innings twice after gaining Independence and both times were against Trinidad &Tobago.
In 1973 at Skeldon, Steven Camacho (144), Leonard Baichan (134) and Lloyd (100*) all got tons as Guyana made 474-4 declared.
The only other occasion that this feat was achieved was in 1998 at Enmore when Clayton Lambert (106), Shiv Chanderpaul (111) and Carl Hooper (104) rallied Guyana to 450-8 in their first innings.
In the last 50 years of Regional first-Class cricket Guyana has won the First-Class title eight times (1973, 1975, 1983, 1987, 1993, 1998, 2014 & 2015).
In our Jubilee year the stands at the Stadium should be named after our outstanding contributors to the game of cricket.
Rohan Kanhai’s name could replace the Orange Stand, Roy Fredericks (Green Stand), Clive Lloyd (Red stand), Carl Hooper & Ramnaresh Sarwan (Grass Mound), Chanderpaul (Player’s Pavilion), Lance Gibbs (Northern end), Colin Croft (Southern end) Joe Soloman (Practice nets), Basil Butcher (Main Gate), Ron Legall (Scoreboard) and Reds Perreira (Media Centre). Fredericks and Legall are both dead.

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