Digicel Regional First-Class cricket…Maiden fifty from Shepherd and 7-wkt haul from Permaul leaves Jaguars scenting early win today

Mar 20, 2017 Sports

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By Sean Devers in Trinidad
In association with Cascadia Hotel,
Stag Beer & Vnet Communications

Twenty-seven year-old Left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul (7-48) and a maiden fifty from 22-year-old all rounder Romario Shepherd who hit an unbeaten 53, put the Guyana Jaguars in an impregnable position at the end of the penultimate day of their seventh round Digicel Regional First-Class cricket game against the T&T Red Force yesterday at the Queen’s Park Oval.

Resuming on 246-8, the Jaguars led by three useful partnerships reached 330 all out from 124 overs as Raymon Reifer (55) shared in a 46-run eighth-wicket stand with Permaul (24) and 26 for the ninth wicket with Shepherd.  Shepherd and 19-year-old Kemo Paul (27) then added 53 for the last wicket as the tail wagged.
Reifer’s 10th fifty lasted 152 balls and was decorated with six fours, while Shepherd faced 85 balls and reached the boundary six times in his entertaining innings and Paul clobbered three fours and a six in cameo 34 ball 27.
Off-spinner Bryan Charles (4-91) collected his second consecutive four-wicket haul, while pacer Marlon Richards (4-57) and left-arm spinner Khary Pierre (2-36) did the damage for the Red Force who were dismissed for 183 despite 40 from Isaiah Rajah, leaving the Jaguars 55 to win in a minimum of four overs yesterday and all of today.
The Jaguars were 3-0 when stumps were draw with Shemron Hetymer (2) and Rajendra Chandrika (1) hoping to give leaders Guyana an early 10-win today.
Permaul celebrated his t20 West Indies selection with his 21st five-wicket haul at this level, while leg spinner Devendra Bishoo was way below his best in this game but still managed 2-68.
The Red Force, 128 behind, lost their leading run scorer Kyle Hope (0) bowled by Reifer with the second ball of the innings and by Lunch were 1-1.
After the interval, Evan Lewis and Isaiah Rajah consolidated the position with a 48-run second wicket with Lewis being the aggressor.
Lewis was scoring freely, but after pulling Bishoo for six, top edged a pull from a short ball and was taken at short mid-wicket as he gave his wicket away next ball when well set. His 25 lasted 40 balls and included two fours and two sixes.
Rajah stroked Permaul for an elegant cover boundary but when Permaul induced the Red Force’s most experienced batsman Jason Mohamed to edge to the Keeper before he had scored, the hosts, with both Hope and Mohamed gone, were in deep trouble on 52-3 on a track offering plenty of assistance to the spinners.
Watched by a disappointing Sunday crowd on another steaming hot day, Rajah and Yannic Cariah battled away on the lightening fast outfield with Rajah counter-attacking the short balls from Shepherd with hooks and pulls and when shepherd bowled short and wide, latched onto him slapped him like a bullet to the point boundary.
Cariah pulled Permaul behind square and as conditions became overcast the partnership was getting annoying for the Jaguars with Cariah devouring a long-hop from Bishoo and blasting it to the boundary.
Rajah was trapped LBW to Bishoo off the last ball before Tea at 91-4 as the Jaguars broke the 39-run stand which was threatening the Jaguars’ march to victory.
After the break, Imran Khan and Cariah took the score to 123 before Cariah was LBW to Permaul for 30 after facing 69 balls and reaching the boundary twice.

Khan hammered Bishoo over mid-wicket for four and Steven Katwaroo dumped him for a similar boundary before Katwaroo (4) was trapped in front as the Red Force were quickly becoming a spent force at 129-6 with a lead of just one run.
It was soon 140-7 when Khan (28) was caught behind off Permaul but Richards and Pierre prolonged the anticipated defeat with Richards belting Bishoo for four and lofting Permaul for six.
But Permaul captured his fifth wicket when he had Richards LBW for a run-a-ball 25 with two fours and a six to leave the score on 172-8. Pierre (18) smashed Bishoo for consecutive boundaries before Permaul removed him and Anderson Phillip (0) to leave the Jaguars to get 55 runs to win.
Earlier, Shepherd stroked Richards to the extra cover boundary, hit back over his head for two and edged him all along to third man for another boundary as he dominated the partnership with Reifer who was kept on tight rein by Charles.
Shepherd, who scored a hundred in the GCB league, elegantly on-drove Richards past mid-on for four and repeated the shot in Richards’ next over for the same result before the left-handed Reifer skied Charles to cover at 273-9.
Paul, batting with an injured finger, joined Shepherd and seemed comfortable against the all spin attack as Imran Khan replaced Richards.
Paul backed away and cut a short ball from Charles behind point for four before using his feet sweetly and on-driving the next ball for an exquisitely executed boundary as the total raced 297.
Paul slog-swept Charles to the mid-wicket boundary to post the 300 in the 115th over as the pair, both genuine all-rounders, grew in confidence the longer they batted.
The pair of the next generation of West Indies cricketers provided the Jaguars with a 100 lead and Shepherd celebrated the land mark by flicking Khan delicately for four as the last wicket partnership flourished.
Paul effortlessly hit Khan over long-on for six and Shepherd swept Khary Pierre for four to bring up his m fifty. Paul, who hit three fours and a six in 27 from 37 balls, was bowled by Pierre, 13 minutes before Lunch leaving Shepherd unbeaten on 53.

Scoreboard
RED FORCE 1st innings 202
JAGUARS 1st Innings
(overnight 246 for eight)
S Hetmyer c Pierre  b Charles                             15
R Chandrika c Cariah b Richards                      17
D Bishoo c wkp Katwaroo b Richards             39
A Fudadin c & b Charles                                        57
*L Johnson c wkp Katwaroo b Richards          7
V Singh c Mohammed b Pierre                          22
R Reifer c Richards b Charles                            55
+A Bramble lbw b Charles                                    4
V Permaul lbw b Richards                                  24
R Shepherd b Pierre                                              53
K Paul not out                                                          27
Extras (b8, w1, nb1)                                               10
TOTAL (all out, 124 overs)               330

Fall of wicket: 1-27, 2-47, 3-136, 4-144, 5-149,
6-196, 7-201, 8-243, 9-273, 10-330.

Bowling: Richards 25-10-57-4, Philip 9-1-34-0,
Charles 37-8-91-4, Imran Khan 25-1-88-0,
Pierre 13-0-35-2, Mohammed 15-5-17-0.

RED FORCE 2nd Innings
*K Hope b Reifer                                                       0
E Lewis c Fudadin b Bishoo                                 25
I Rajah lbw b Bishoo                                              40
J Mohammed c wkp Bramble b Permaul          2
Y Cariah lbw b Permaul                                          30
I Khan c wkp Bramble b Permaul                       28
+S Katwaroo lbw b Permaul                                   4
K Pierre c wkp Bramble b Permaul                    19
M Richards lbw b Permaul                                     25
B Charles not out                                                           1
A Phillip lbw b Permaul                                              0
Extras (b5, lb2, w1, nb1)                                             9
TOTAL (all out, 57.5 overs)                 183

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-48, 3-52, 4-91, 5-123,
6-129, 7-140, 8-172, 9-183, 10-183.

Bowling: Reifer 5-1-21-1, Permaul 25.5-9-48-7,
Shepherd 8-0-33-0, Bishoo 16-2-68-2, Johnson 3-0-6-0.

JAGUARS 2nd Innings (target: 56 runs)
S Hetmyer not out                                            2
R Chandrika not out                                        1
TOTAL (without loss, 4 overs)      3

Bowling: Richards 2-0-3-0, Phillip 2-2-0-0.

Position: Jaguars require 53 runs for victory with all 10 wickets intact.
Toss: Red Force.
Umpires: P Nero, G Lloyd.

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