Johnson, Motie lead Guyana Jaguars past Leewards Hurricanes

Feb 13, 2021 Sports

Gudakesh Motie is congratulated by Captain Leon Johnson after taking one of his four wickets. (CWI)

Leon Johnson scored an all important 102 not out to see his team to victory. (file photo)

Kaieteur News – Man-of-the-match Gudakesh Motie captured 4 for 45, but it was the outstanding batsman-ship of Skipper Leon Johnson with a measured 102 not out, with help from Christopher Barnwell with 49 as the pair put on 101 runs between them to be the key factor that saw the Guyana Jaguars home against the Leewards Hurricanes in the latest match of the Cricket West Indies (CWI) CG Insurance Super50 tournament at the Coolidge Ground in Antigua yesterday.
Jaguars won the toss and sent the Hurricanes into bat and they put together a good start and seemed set to go to a 300 or more score as openers Kieran Powell 94 and Ross Powell 61 shared in a 152 run opening stand.

Gudakesh Motie in his delivery stride during his 4 wicket haul yesterday. (CWI)

Nial Smith was also impressive for the Guyana Jaguars. (CWI)

But once the Jaguars saw the back of the pair, only Devon Thomas with 24 made any real contribution as they closed their innings at 244 for 9 off their 50 overs.
Gudakesh Motie it was who struck the telling blow to account for both openers as he captured 4 for 45. He had excellent support from Nial Smith with 3 for 47 and Romario Shepherd 2-50 as the Jaguars put on the brakes.
Set 245 to win, the Guyana Jaguars saw openers Chanderpaul Hemraj (24) and Assad Fudadin (22) put on 45 as the Hurricanes made it tough in the run chase. Once the openers along with Shimron Hetmyer (9), who was run out, departed, it was operation rebuild and consolidate by Johnson and Barnwell. It was slow going at the start by the pair but they stuck to the task and eventually began to click, putting the bad balls away and rotating the strike.

Kieran Powell led the Leewards Hurricanes batting with 94 at the top of the innings. (CWI)

Ross Powell scored 61 in a 150 plus run opening stand with Kieran Powell. (CWI)

Johnson it was who took the lead role and the final result showed as the skipper led from the front. When Barnwell departed followed by Anthony Bramble (2), Shepherd joined the fray and together with his captain saw the Jaguars home by five wickets with 13 balls remaining, in the process Johnson despite a slight injury, fought through the pain to bring up a well deserved hundred.
The Guyana Jaguars now sit atop the standing with 8 points after a perfect run. They will be in action again tomorrow when they face the Jamaica Scorpions at the Coolidge Ground from 1:30pm.
However, the tournament will continue today from the same time at the same venue with what promises to be another good contest. Trinidad and Tobago Red Force come up against Windward Islands Volcanoes in today’s game.
Scores: Leewards Hurricanes 244 for 9 off 50 overs (Kieran Powell 94, Ross Powell 61, Devon Thomas 24; Gudakesh Motie 4-45, Nial Smith 3- 47, Romario Shepherd 2-50) lost to Guyana Jaguars 245 for 5 off 47.5 overs (Leon Johnson 102 not out, Christopher Barnwell 49, Chanderpaul Hemraj 24, Assad Fudadin 22) by 5 wickets.