Barbados Pride – The 592 Dugout

Smith 2nd innings fifer fires Harpy Eagles to victory over Barbados Pride – WI Championship

By Michelangelo Jacobus

A fiery spell after lunch from Guyana Harpy Eagles pacer Nial Smith ensured that his side recorded a big win in their first round encounter against the defending champions Barbados Pride at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Saturday afternoon.

Smith’s 2nd innings figures of 5/31 (10 Overs) vindicated the Harpy Eagles’ skipper Leon Johnson’s decision to bat first as the previously dull pitch came alive on the fourth and final day of the match. Smith’s performance complemented the first innings effort of 19-year-old debutant Matthew Nandu who set the platform for the win with his excellent 126 on debut.

Earlier in the day, the Guyanese batting order collapsed in a heap as the Barbados pacers got the ball to move with poor shot selections not helping either. Seamers Akeem Jordan and Keon Harding were the destroyers-in-chief sharing six wickets between them with 3-apiece. Veteran Veerasammy Permaul and Smith had the highest partnership of the Guyanese 2nd innings and when the former was bowled by Chaim Holder, the Guyana Harpy Eagles declared at 126/9 leaving Barbados staring at a total of 278 for an unlikely victory.

Enter Smith; he began proceedings by getting first innings top scorer Sheyne Mosely to nick one to wicket-keeper Anthony Bramble for a duck in the second over while Shamar Joseph trapped Zachary McCaskie LBW in the very next over. However Jonathan Drakes and Shamarh Brooks looked to steady the ship and took their side from 9/2 to 30 before Brooks became Ronsford Beaton’s first victim.

The beginning of the end for the defending champions came courtesy of Veerasammy Permaul who snared the scalps of Nicolas Kirton and Shamar Springer in the 19th over to take his career tally to 504 wickets (the highest by a Guyanese bowler). Then Beaton added his second wicket of the innings when he sent back the Bajan skipper, a wounded Shane Dowrich for a two-ball duck to leave Barbados in serious trouble at 38/6.

Drakes (36) and Akeem Jordan (20) offered a brief resistance but the return of Smith sealed their end. He had Jordan holing out to Kevin Sinclair, then Drakes followed in similar fashion, caught by Permaul while Harding was also dismissed via a catch. Fittingly Smith sealed his five-wicket haul and a resounding win for the Guyana Harpy Eagles by bowling Jair McAllister to end the Barbados innings at 94 (36 overs).

SCORES: Guyana Harpy Eagles – 371 & 126/9 Declared, Barbados Pride – 220/9 & 94 All out

Guyana won by 183 runs.

Nandu’s debut ton puts Guyana in command on Day 2 – WI Championship

Guyana Harpy Eagles’ young debutant opener Matthew Nandu stroked a rock-solid century to mark his entry into regional four-day cricket and put his team in charge at stumps on day 2 of their first round encounter with defending champions Barbados Pride.

Resuming with their side on 205/5, Nandu and Kevin Sinclair added a further 20 runs to their partnership before the latter fell 7 runs short of a half-century edging Jair McAllister to stand-in skipper and wicket-keeper Shamarh Brooks.

Veteran Veerasammy Permaul joined Nandu and together they put on a 90-run 7th-wicket partnership to flatten the Barbados Pride bowling unit. Nandu’s century was brought up just before lunch with a savage cut off the bowling of Keon Harding.

Shortly after lunch, the partnership was broken as Permaul now on the offensive, holed out to McAllister to give Keon Harding what would be his only wicket of the innings. Now in his 8th partnership, Nandu and fellow debutant Shamar Joseph further frustrated the Bajans and added 39 before Nandu’s marathon knock came to an end with the total at 354. The youngster’s 126 spanned 331 deliveries, and included 14 boundaries.

His wicket reinvigorated the Barbados Pride bowlers and they wrapped up the remaining two wickets for just 17 runs but Nandu had already done the damage.

In reply, Barbados openers Zachary McCaskie and Sheyne Moseley put on a valuable 69 run opening stand. However McCaskie would be the first wicket to fall, holing out to Chandrapaul Hemraj off the bowling of spinner Kevin Sinclair.

Jonathan Drakes followed quickly, trapped LBW to Permaul for duck. Moseley would push on to register a dogged 65 before he made his way back to the pavilion giving Shamar Joseph his first wicket at this level, he was out caught behind.

At stumps, Barbados Pride were105/3, still 266 runs adrift of the Harpy Eagles first innings total.

Scores:

Guyana Harpy Eagles 1st Innings 371 (121.1 Overs), Matthew Nandu 126, Kevin Sinclair 43, Jair McAllister 3/43.

Barbados Pride 105/3 (39 Overs) Sheyne Moseley 69, McCaskie 26, Veerasammy Permaul 1/18, Shamar Joseph 1/20, Kevin Sinclair 1/26

Nandu, dropped catches frustrate Barbados on day 1 – West Indies Championship

Highly touted as one for the future, Guyana Harpy Eagles 19-year-old debutant Matthew Nandu played with patience, class and composure that belies his age to frustrate Barbados at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua & Barbuda with an unbeaten 71 on day one of their first round encounter.

At stumps, the Harpy Eagles were on 205/5 (76.4 Overs) after winning the toss and electing to bat. The morning session was cut short due to a Keon Harding delivery which tore a chunk of the turf out of the pitch which then had to be repaired by the ground staff. In that shortened session, openers Nandu and Chandrapaul Hemraj navigated their side to lunch (at 29) without loss. However, Barbados Pride would be left ruing a couple of dropped catches which enabled the Harpy Eagles to push on.

Shortly after lunch, Hemraj and Tevin Imlach would fall quickly to leave the Harpy Eagles wobbling at 35/2. First, Hemraj fell LBW to seamer Jair McAllister then Imlach had to return to the pavilion without troubling the scorers also via the LBW route off the bowling of Akeem Jordan.

From thereon out, it was the Nandu show as he strung together useful partnerships with fellow debutant Kemol Savoury, skipper Leon Johnson and Anthony Bramble, who all made starts but failed to bat on.

Savoury (25) and Nandu combined to take the Harpy Eagles to 80 before the aggressive wicket-keeper batsman nicked spinner Chaim Holder to Shane Dowrich to end his first innings at the regional level. In strode the under pressure Johnson who looked attractive in his innings of 26 and it was only fitting that he was at the non-striker’s end when Nandu brought up his maiden fifty on the stroke of tea to raucous applause from his teammates. However, after the break, Johnson too, fell to Holder with the score at 126/4.

The ever consistent Anthony Bramble did all the hard work at the beginning of his innings only to give his wicket away with a nothing shot as he fell for 20 caught by McAllister of the bowling of Jordan. At that point, the Guyana Harpy Eagles looked vulnerable with the total at 163/5 but all-rounder Kevin Sinclair and the increasingly confident Nandu took the fight to a waning Pride attack.

Their partnership worth 45, Sinclair (28 not out) and Nandu guided the Harpy Eagles to the close of play with the score at 205/5 (76.4 Overs), albeit not without incident, as an edge from Nandu seemed to carry to Akeem Jordan, but the umpires correctly ruled not out which replays vindicated as the ball appeared to bounce before entering Jordan’s grasp. Nandu will resume his innings on day two at 71 (219 deliveries and 9 boundaries).

(Day 1 Stumps: Guyana Harpy Eagles 205/5 – Matthew Nandu 71 not out, Kevin Sinclair 28)