TRAVIS Dowling continued his good form with another half-century. In this Winston Oudkerk shot, he on-drives for another boundary in his innings of 94.
GEORGETOWN, Guyana, (CMC) West Indies vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan, playing his first game this season, and Travis Dowlin missed out on centuries but Guyana closed the first day of the sixth round of the Carib Beer 2004 Series against the West Indies B in a handsome position at the Enmore Community Centre ground.
Sarwan slammed a classy 95 and Dowlin a solid 94 as the two added a third-wicket partnership of 162 in Guyana's stumps score of 266 for five.
Having been inserted to bat, Guyana's openers once again failed, both going with only 14 runs on the board.
But then the right-handed pair of Sarwan and Dowlin made the West Indies B toil painfully until the score got to 176 when Sarwan threw his hand away.
The West Indies B started with aggression and flourish dismissing the two openers within the first four overs.
Sewnarine Chattergoon, having gotten only three, went first - caught behind down the leg side in the third over of the day trying to flick Dwight Washington and getting a faint edge.
In the next over, Jason Bennett -- bowling with sometimes vicious inswing -- trapped Krishna Arjune (2) leg-before-wicket with a delivery that hit the batsman on the full after swinging wickedly in the air.
From that point onwards, it was the Sarwan/Dowlin show as the two resuscitated the innings with a responsible and intelligent partnership built on rotation of the strike and remorselessly punishing poor deliveries.
Sarwan, displaying the level of confidence and maturity one would expect a Test batsman to show at this level, led the fight.
He spent 81 deliveries in accumulating his fifty then progressed largely untroubled to 95.
With only five needed for him to register his 11th first-class century he tried to cut a low Bennett delivery and got a bottom edge and was taken low down by wicketkeeper Patrick Browne.
The knock, fashioned with eight fours, lasted for 154 balls and rescued Guyana from 14 for two.
Sarwan had a few loud shouts against him during his innings, the most confident of which was when he was on 81 and tried to work Washington into the onside and was left stranded in front with the ball plummeting into his pads.
Trinidad & Tobago umpire Zainol Macoon thought otherwise and allowed Sarwan to carry on.
VICE-CAPTAIN Ramnaresh Sarwan hooks this delivery during his knock of 95.
When he departed 14 runs later, Dowlin who batted throughout with consolidating ease took charge in the best of his three half-centuries this year.
His innings ended with a stunning diving catch at mid-wicket by the Jamaican batsman Shawn Findlay.
Dowlin, six away from what would have been his third regional first- class century, flicked Danza Hyatt, and Findlay, flinging himself away to his right intercepted and scooped up the ball, which was heading to the boundary in a rush.
However, the West Indies B had an opportunity to dismiss Dowlin earlier.
The final delivery before tea should have brought the fourth wicket for the West Indies B but ’keeper Browne spilled an edge from Dowlin's bat when he was on 64 after he had reached his half-century from 116 balls in two hours and 45 minutes of batting.
Shortly after tea, another chance was not accepted -- Ryan Austin failing to hold a Narsingh Deonarine straight drive off his own bowling when the batsman was only three.
Deonarine compiled an easy 35, slamming away poor deliveries for fours but then, like Sarwan, got out to a soft dismissal.
He tried to lift off-spinner Kenroy Williams out the ground but succeeded only in getting the ball as far as Austin Richards at long off.
At the end of the day, the Guyana captain, Shivnarine Chanderpaul excited the crowd with three fine fours in his unbeaten 16.
His first boundary was so immaculately timed that it teased and beat a chasing Ryan Ramdass all the way into the boundary.
The very next delivery from Bennett, short and wide outside off, was slapped away with disdain through covers by the senior West Indian batsman to bring the 400 or so Thursday crowd buzzing with excitement.
Chanderpaul has as his overnight partner, all-rounder Damodar Daesrath on three.
Bennett was impressive taking two for 44 to move his wicket tally for the series from 19 to 21 to remain the leading wicket-taker for the West Indies B.
There was one wicket apiece for Williams (1-20), Hyatt (1-25) and Washington (1-44).
Washington produced some dangerous short lifting deliveries early in the innings but as the Enmore wicket dried out, it played lower and slower, much as it normally plays.
Bennett, on the other hand, rarely pitched short throughout the day, preferring to bowl a much fuller length to exploit his swing, particularly into the right-handers.
Even with the return of their two Test batsmen, Guyana opted for batting power, leaving out Esaun Crandon and Zaheer Mohamed while the West Indies B played an unchanged team from their fifth round encounter against Jamaica.
GUYANA 1st innings
K.Arjune lbw Bennett 2
S.Chattergoon c wkp. Browne b Washington 3
R.Sarwan c wkp. Browne b Bennett 95
T.Dowlin c Findlay b Hyatt 94
N.Deonarine c Richards b Williams 35
S.Chanderpaul not out 16
D.Daesrath not out 3
Extras: (lb-2, b-4, nb-11, w-1) 18
Total: (for 5 wickets from 90 overs) 266
Bowling: Washington 10-2-44-1 (nb-1), Bennett 15-1-44-2 (nb-2), Austin 25-2-71-0, Thomas 11-2-34-0 (nb-3, w-1), Findlay 8-3-13-0, Williams 7-0-20-0,Hyatt 12-4-25-1 (nb-4), Ramdass 2-0-9-0 (nb-1).