Digicel Regional First-Class cricket…Cornwall befuddles Jaguars’ batsmen

Apr 22, 2017 Sports

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Hodge and Hughes keep Hurricanes blowing strong

By Sean Devers
Rakeem Cornwall’s 11th five-wicket haul and irresponsible shot selection by the

Guyana Jaguars batsmen combined to send the three-times Champions crashing to 187 all out on the opening day in the last round of their Digicel Regional First-Class match against the last placed Leewards Hurricanes at Providence yesterday.
By the close the visitors were in control on 62 without loss with the Anguillan pair of left-hander Chesney Hughes (29) and Montcin Hodge (32) just 126 away from the Jaguars’ disappointing total.
Cornwall, the burly Leewards Skipper, spun webs around the impatient Jaguars to capture 6-68 from 26 unchanged overs, while his new ball pair of Gavin Tonge (2-39) and Jerimiah Louis (2-27) took the other four wickets on a good track after the hosts had elected to bat in sweltering heat.
Skipper Leon Johnson reached the boundary five times in 76 minutes of batting from 74 balls in 33, Keemo Paul reached the ropes twice and cleared it a similar number of times in a 51-ball 30, while 17-year-old Baskar Yadram hit five fours in a rapid 25 from 51 balls and 77 minutes on debut but no one else passed 15 in an innings that lacked common sense and commitment.

Yadram, who ironically replaced his Enterprise club mate Rajendra Chandrika in the eleven, began his First-Class career in positive fashion with a glorious cover driven boundary off Louis and successive fours off Tonge to gallop to 12 from three scoring shots.
But despite clobbering Cornwall one-bounce to the long-on boundary and dominating the opening stand with the strangely subdued Assad Fudadin, spin troubled the 6ft 4 inches debutant.
Fudadin never looked like the batsman who scored the highest of his three First-Class centuries in the previous match against the Windwards at the same venue and an out of character lofted drive off the first ball of Cornwall’s spell spiraled to Kacey Carty who held a brilliant running catch diving full length forward.
His reckless shot selection was just the first off many more to come from batsmen who remained shackled due the frugal bowling of Cornwall, who at one point delivered seven consecutive maidens, while Louis kept things tight from the other end.
The 50 was posted in the 15th over in 80 minutes before two wickets tumbled at 51.

Chanderpaul Hemraj (9) on the back of a fifty in his first match at this level since 2013, inexplicable tried to clear mid-on and was taken by Jacques Taylor as Louis made the break-through.
Yadram got one that bounced from Cornwall and turned it into the hands of Taylor at leg-gully without addition to the score before Johnson, who began with a swept boundary off Taylor, in partnership with the usually level-headed Raymon Reifer, batted with some amount of flair.
The left-hander Johnson viewed by many as the best Captain in the tournament but badly short of big scores this season, pounced on Cornwall and swatted him like a bullet to the mid-wicket boundary before an imperiously hit straight drive raced for another four and as Johnson moved into the 30s it seemed this could be the innings to attract the attention of new West Indies selector Travis Dowlin, who was among those in a venue that accommodates 15,000.
However, a ‘nothing shot’ from Johnson who seemed caught in two minds; to play at the ball or play no shot. He did neither and hung his bat for the ball to ‘nick’ the edge for Keeper Jamal Hamilton to take the offering as Tonge celebrated and the Jaguars slipped to 101-4 after the 50-run stand.
Reifer (13 from 60 balls) ill advisably left his crease and was neatly stumped off Cornwall at the same score before Keemo Paul and Anthony Bramble carried the score to 136 before Bramble (15) edged a big drive and Cornwall at slip held a ‘blinder’ to give Louis his second wicket under blue skies.
Paul eased the strangulation job by dumping Cornwall for two sixes in the same over but Jacobs, who returned to First-Class cricket with a quality 61 in the last match, swept Cornwall for to get off the mark boundary before he gloved another sweep, next ball and was taken a leg slip at 147-7.
Paul was removed by Cornwall at 165-8 before Veerasammy Permaul (12) punched Cornwall for consecutive boundaries before he fell to Tonge 10 runs later .Clinton Pestano (15) threw his bat around and hit a six and a four before Cornwall polished off the innings leaving Anthony Adams unbeaten on four.
The Leewards, the only team to beat the Jaguars in 28 matches when the defeated them by four wickets in the second round in St Kitts after a sporting declaration allowed the Hurricanes back into the game, raced to 50 in14 overs as Hughes played an immaculate cover drive for four before pivoting on one leg and hooking Pestano into the Red Stand next ball.
Hodge, who made 114 the last time these teams met, also played attractively and the pair was together when bails were lifted.

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