Spinners bowl Jamaica to control against Guyana (TCL Group West Indies Under 19 Challenge)

FRIENDSHIP, Barbados – Spinners Jermaine Blackwood and Donovan Nelson shared eight wickets for Jamaica to grab first innings points from champions Guyana on the second day of their TCL Group West Indies Under-19 fourth-round match on Sunday.
 
Responding to Jamaica’s first innings – overnight declaration score of - 354 for nine declared at the Yorkshire Sports Club, Guyana tumbled to 214 all out, as off-spinner Blackwood and West Indies Under-15 leg-spinner Nelson both returned identical figures of four for 52.
 
At stumps, the Jamaicans had built their overall lead to a beefy 187, closing at 47 for one with Nick Blackwood on 17 and Courtney Allen on one.
 
Guyana’s innings suffered a crushing middle and lower-order collapse.
 
Opener Trevon Griffith stroked 69, with 10 fours and a six in a 147-minute stay at the crease but the Guyanese lost their last six wickets for a mere 11 runs from 203 for five.
 
When play resumed on Sunday, Guyana began their reply after Jamaica’s overnight declaration and Griffith, who drove pacer Gifton Wray for two elegant off-side boundaries, added 27 runs in 52 minutes on a flat track with Royan Fredericks.
 
Fredericks (10) looked very tentative in his 32-ball innings and was bowled by left-arm pacer Romeo Dunka as he played over a full delivery.
 
Griffith took the fight to the Jamaicans with positive stroke-play.
 
The 17-year-old left-hander drove the pacers commandingly through the covers and disdainfully swept off-spinner Andre Creary for six as he dominated a 37-run stand with Jeetendra Sookdeo, who made16.
 
Sookdeo looked uneasy against Nelson and after being befuddled by a succession of googlies from the 14-year-old, the left-hander edged a ball that bounced and spun away from him to slip and Guyana were 64 for two after the 50 was posted in 17.2 overs.
 
Seon Hetmyer (0) impetuously swept Creary to deep square-leg 11 minutes before lunch as Guyana slipped to 71 for three but the solid Griffith and Jonathan Foo saw their team to the break at 84 for three.
 
Griffith reached his maiden fifty just after lunch from 96 balls in 127 minutes with seven fours and a six and celebrated with consecutive boundaries off Dunka to bring up the 100 in 33.4 overs.
 
Foo smashed Creary savagely to the cover boundary and offered attractive support to Griffith in a 51-run partnership before he pulled a short ball from Nelson straight to mid-on.
 
His 32 lasted 45 balls and was decorated with five fours and his demise left Guyana on 122 for four.
 
Dilon Heyliger joined the well entrenched Griffith, who was dropped at point off Jermaine Blackwood on 68, with the score on 122 for four and it became 134 for five when Griffith offered an easy catch to short extra cover off Jermaine Blackwood.
 
Heyliger was dropped twice (on two and eight) under the bat off Nelson, who extracted prodigious bounce from the pitch.
 
Nelson and Jermaine Blackwood bowled in tandem for most of the post lunch session.
 
By tea, Guyana had progressed to 172 for five with Heyliger on 23 and Eugene La Fleur on 17.
 
After tea, La Fleur caressed Nelson to the cover boundary and along with Heyliger took their partnership to 69 before Le Fleur, who hit three fours in his 73-ball 35, was bowled by Nelson at 203 for six.
 
Jermaine Blackwood then got rid of Anthony Bramble (0) at 208 for seven, and Herman Latcha (1) and Keon Joseph (0) at 214, before Heyliger’s luck finally ran out when he was removed by Nelson as the last three Guyana wickets tumbled for no run.
 
Heyliger, again dropped on 40, lofted a catch to long-on after hitting two fours and two sixes in his 46 from 110 balls and 147 minutes as the Guyana innings ended just after 4:00 pm local time.
 
Jamaica batted enterprisingly at the start of their second innings with Nick Blackwood smashing Joseph for two fours and West Indies Under-19 right-hander Horace Miller thumping Heyliger for a four, a six and two more exquisite boundaries off successive balls.
 
Miller then disappointingly crashed the last delivery of the eventful over straight to cover as Heyliger made the break through at 40 for one in the seventh over. Miller’s 26 lasted 23 balls and included four fours and a six.

SCORES:

JAMAICA 354-9 declared (Andre Creary 118, Maverick Perry 80, Romeo Dunka 46, Jermaine Blackwood 39; Keon Joseph 3-40, Eugene La Fleur 3-73) and 47-1 (Horace Miller 26).

GUYANA 214 (Trevon Griffith 69, Dilon Heyliger 46, Eugene La Fleur 35, Jonathan Foo 32; Jermaine Blackwood 4-52, Donovan Nelson 4-52).