DISCOVERY BAY, Jamaica, (CMC) -- Six Jamaican wickets tumbled for 29 runs as Guyana recorded a sensational, come-from-behind, four-run victory over the home team in their Red Stripe Bowl cricket semifinal at Kaiser Oval yesterday.
Close to 5 000 stunned home fans watched as Jamaica slumped from 150 for four to 179 all out off 49.1 overs. Earlier, the home team had limited Guyana to 183 all out off 49.5 overs and seemed well on course for victory with Chris Gayle and David Bernard looking at ease in a 60-run fifth-wicket stand.
Bernard’s dismissal, however, triggered a stunning batting collapse that conceded victory to Guyana and earned the victors a place in Sunday’s final at the same venue against the winners of today’s second semifinal between Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago.
Gayle batted responsibly to gather seven fours in the top score of 67 from 128 balls, but the Guyana slow bowlers, led by Mahendra Nagamootoo with three wickets for 24 runs from 9.1 overs and Neil McGarrell, later named man-of-the-match, with two for 31 from 10 overs, all turned in purposeful performances when their team needed them the most.
With five runs needed from the last over bowled by Nagamootoo, everyone was on their feet as Jerome Taylor played across and was lbw first ball to send Jamaica, last year’s losing finalist, crashing out of the competition.
Gayle and fellow West Indies left-hander Wavell Hinds put together 47 for the second wicket after fast bowler Rayon Griffith had given Guyana early hope by having Brenton Parchment caught behind in the third over.
Ryan Ramdass dropped left-hander Hinds when he was 21, at mid-off off Esuan Crandon at 51-1.
The West Indies batsman, however, failed to capitalise on his good fortune and drove hard, but straight to Guyana captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul at short cover in Crandon’s next over to leave the home team on 58 for two.
Marlon Samuels was then sent packing for a first-ball duck as he edged a ball which left him for ’keeper Nagamootoo to hold a sharp low catch to his right and leave Crandon on a hat-trick and Jamaica on 58-3 in the twelfth over.
Ricardo Powell was greeted by a resounding roar from the large and vocal crowd and the powerful right-hander, already with two half-centuries in the competition, smashed Crandon for three consecutive boundaries in his seventh over that cost 13 runs.
Left-arm spin bowler McGarrell then silenced the crowd at 90 for four when Powell was bowled for 20 off 17 balls.
Gayle and Bernard, however, consolidated their team’s position and carried them to the brink. But the Guyana slow bowlers fought back in cool conditions.
Nagamootoo got rid of Bernard and then sent back the dangerous Gayle five runs later as the tension mounted.
When Jamaica captain Robert Samuels lofted Narsingh Deonarine to Ramdass at deep mid-wicket and McGarrell bowled Carlton Baugh for a duck, the home team had slid to 165 for eight.
The crowd was stunned into silence when Gareth Breese, Jamaica’s last recognised batsman, was run-out going for a second run to long-off to leave the last pair of Daren Powell and Jerome Taylor to make 16 runs from 11 balls.
Taylor sent the crowd wild when he pulled Deonarine for six in the penultimate over to add to the excitement. Nagamootoo ended Jamaica’s comeback story with the first ball of the last over to ensure Guyana qualified for their fourth Red Stripe Bowl final.
Guyana, sent in to bat on a pitch that offered the bowlers appreciable bounce and movement, early, found scoring difficult and subsided to 89 for six.
Bernard made the breakthrough for Jamaica when he had Ryan Ramdass lbw and added Lennox Cush, who was caught behind for his third duck in the competition, to leave the score on 36 for two.
Guyana passed 50 before the lively Taylor captured the valuable wicket of West Indies vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan bowled for eight in the 15th over, much to the delight of a good size crowd.
Breese then removed opening batsman Sewnarine Chattergoon and Chanderpaul, as Guyana slumped to 73 for five and when Deonarine, the last of the specialist batsmen, was adjudged lbw to Marlon Samuels, it looked like the Guyanese were dead and buried.
Two lower-order partnerships involving McGarrell, whose 43 from 60 balls was the top score, towards the end of the innings beefed up the Guyana total and gave their bowlers a score with which they could work.
GUYANA
S. Chattergoon c Parchment b Breese 23
R.Ramdass lbw b Bernard 9
L.Cush c wkpr Baugh b Bernard 0
R.Sarwan b Taylor 8
*S.Chanderpaul stp. Baugh b Breese 12
N.Deonarine lbw b M.Samuels 11
M.Nagamootoo c and b Gayle 30
N.McGarrell b R. Powell 43
+V.Nagamootoo c wkpr Baugh b Taylor 4
E.Crandon c wkpr Baugh b R.Powell 17
R.Griffith not out 2
Extras: (b-4, lb-7, w-12, nb-1) 24
Total: (all out - 49.5 overs) 183
Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-36, 3-56, 4-60, 5-73, 6-89, 7-121, 8-139, 9-176.
Bowling: D. Powell 8-1-27-0 (w-3), Taylor 10-1-38-2 (w-5), Bernard 4-0-20-2(nb-1, w-4), Breese 10-1-35-2, M.Samuels 10-2-25-1, Gayle 5-0-18-1, R.Powell 2.5-0-9-2.
JAMAICA
C.Gayle c *Chanderpaul b Nagamootoo 67
B.Parchment c wkpr Nagamootoo b Griffith 2
W.Hinds c *Chanderpaul b Crandon 23
M.Samuels c wkpr Nagamootoo b Crandon 0
R.Powell b McGarrell 20
D.Bernard c Deonarine b Nagamootoo 29
*R.Samuels c Ramdass b Deonarine 5
G.Breese run-out 7
+C.Baugh b McGarrell 0
D.Powell not out 5
J.Taylor lbw b Nagamootoo 7
Extras: (lb-6, w-8) 14
Total: (all out - 49.1 overs) 179
Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-58, 3-58, 4-90, 5-150, 6-155, 7-160, 8-165, 9-168.
Bowling: Griffith 4-0-26-1 (w-2), Crandon 7-0-39-2 (w-3), Cush 10-2-20-0 (w-1), McGarrell 10-0-31-2 (w-1), Nagamootoo 9.1-0-24-3 (w-1), Deonarine 9-2-33-1.
Umpires: B. Doctrove, B. Morgan (TV Replays: C. Fletcher).