The Guyanese amassed 2 163 points and 39 X-bulls to hold on to the long-range trophy in their possession since 2000, with Jamaica following on 2 153 and 29, while Trinidad & Tobago finished third on 2 047 and 34.

Teams shot from the 900 and 1 000 yards ranges, firing 15 counting shots each in two hours and very difficult wind and light conditions.

Guyana’s Ransford Goodluck registered the highest scores at each range, 147 points and five Xs at the 900 yards and 141 and four Xs at the 1 000 yards.

“It was rough. It was a shooter’s nightmare. The winds did everything. The coaches had to start all over again for each shooter. That’s when it became a coach’s nightmare,” Goodluck told Chronicle Sport.

Coach Neville Denny said: “The wind was rough. In my long service in rifle shooting, it was the strangest wind I ever saw. It caught a lot of shooters in the aim. The mirage was going one way and the wind another.”

Coach Paul Slowe declared: “It was the most difficult long-range coaching I’ve ever done, including experiences at Bisley, England. Sometimes you can’t even see the wind.”

Guyana won the first shoot at the 900 yards, totalling 1 117, with Jamaica trailing by 18 points on 1 099, followed by Trinidad & Tobago on 1 060. Guyana had 27 Xs, Jamaica 18 and Trinidad & Tobago 18.

Then after the lunch break, Jamaica stormed back to win the 1 000 yards by eight points, but that was not enough to wipe off Guyana’s lead. Jamaica had 1 054 points and eleven Xs, Guyana 1 046 and 12, and Trinidad & Tobago 987 and 16.

The local line-up consisted of Mahendra Persaud (captain), Ransford Goodluck, Lennox Braithwaite, Richard Fields, Claude Duguid, Ryan Sampson, Derick Narine and Dane Blair.

Jamaica’s team had Carl Smith, Valrie Newman, David Rickman, Patrick Cabey, John Nelson, Jose Nunez, Canute Coley and Keith Hammond while Trinidad & Tobago fielded John Fong-Yew, Stephen Chung, Justin Lall, Norris Gomez, Michael Perez, Gregory Clement, Marc Homer and Wendell Wong.