Guyana's bowlers recorded their best day in the field in the 2004 Carib Beer regional first-class series when they routed Trinidad for 143 in their fifth-round match at the Albion Community Develop-ment Centre ground here yesterday.
Led by medium-pacer Damodar Daesrath who grabbed career-best figures of 4-14 from 18 overs, 10 of which were maidens, the Guyanese bowlers stuck to their task manfully and were rewarded by routing the second-place Trinidadians to their lowest score this season.
Guyana struck in the first over after Trinidad skipper Imran Jan won the toss and elected to bat on a pitch devoid of grass and which looked good for batting.
Their display however, did not support that assessment.
Opener Sherwin Ganga nibbled at the last delivery of the day's first over from Reon Griffith and wicketkeeper Vishal Nagamootoo, who had a fine day behind the stumps, took the catch gleefully. Trinidad never fully recovered. The slumped to 50-3 at lunch with Ganga's older brother Daren and the in-form Dwayne Bravo joining Sherwin Ganga back in the pavilion.
Daren Ganga was out to a peach of a delivery from Daesrath. The ball pitched outside off stump but cut back so much that it knocked the test batsman's leg-stump out of the ground. The dismissal sent the bowler and the rest of his team-mates into ecstasy.
Guyana gained further success when leg-spinner Zaheer Mohammed dismissed Bravo with the fifth ball of his first over as Trinidad limped to lunch on 50-3 already rueing the decision to bat first.
Guyana struck quickly upon resumption when skipper Neil Mc Garrell had Aneil Kanhai LBW playing back.
Throughout all this skipper Jan, although not at his most fluent, stood firm like a rock. He had featured in partnerships of 21 with Daren Ganga for the third wicket and 28 with Bravo for the fourth.
Bravo batted 59 minutes and faced 54 balls for his 18, which included two boundaries.
After lunch, Jan, who was only 16, at the interval, played with greater assurance whilst adding 57 runs in the period. He added 33 for the fifth wicket with Shazam Babwah and 37 for the sixth with wicketkeeper Gilbran Mohammed and was the cornerstone upon which his team's total was built.
He lost Babwah with the score on 83, the batsman falling to a spectacular catch at mid-off by Reon Griffith off leg spinner Zaheer Mohammed and wicketkeeper Gibran Mohammed caught by Narsingh Deonarine of Travis Dowlin.
Jan finally fell for the top score of 73 which was decorated with nine boundaries and came from 171 balls and in 246 minutes being adjudged LBW to Daesrath who also removed Rayad Emrit to a brilliant bit of leg-side stumping by Nagamootoo.
The rampaging Daesrath struck again removing former West Indies fast bowler Marlon Black to a sensational catch by Dowlin at first slip diving low to his left.
But the last wicket pair of Amit Jaggernauth and Rodney Sooklall held up Guyana for some 87 minutes. The tail-enders faced some 62 balls whilst adding only nine runs.
Mohammed, 3-38, Dowlin, 1-12, Griffith, 1-30 and Mc Mc Garrell, 1-33 supported Daesrath's 4-17.
Needing to face 11 overs Guyana slumped to 19-2 with opener Krishna Arjune being dismissed off the last ball of the day for one.
They also lost Sewnaine Chattergoon for 10. On both occasions the bowler was Bravo. The medium pacer who began this game with 19 wickets took his tally to 21. Brought on to replace Marlon Black, Bravo struck in his first over when Chattergoon dragged a wide ball back onto his stumps.
Arjune fell to a lifting delivery which popped up for an easy catch by Sherwin Ganga as the players trooped off the field signalling the end on an intriguing day's play.