USA topples West Indies Emerging Players; Guyana Jaguars holds off Windwards Challenge

Thu, Nov 21, '19

 

At Queen’s Park Oval: A classy maiden List A century from Kavem Hodge (123) was overshadowed by a century from Chanderpaul Hemraj (100), as the Guyana Jaguars toppled the Windwards Islands Volcanoes by 22 runs.

“This was a huge win for us. It was a must win game if we wanted to compete with the other teams and get a final two (position) in Zone B”, said Jaguars coach Esuan Crandon to CWI Media.

The bedrock of Guyana’s innings was built on two factors: their record 171 run opening partnership between player of the match Hemraj and Tagenarine Chanderpaul (64), then solid middle order contributions from Raymond Reifer (52) and Christopher Barnwell (38).

“We batted well in the first half, even though I felt we fell short by about 15-20 runs. Having said that, Hemraj batted beautifully and it showed what can be accomplished when you set a solid foundation, and the others guys (batsmen)afterwards were able to come in and play a little bit free”, said Crandon.

Playing in his 39th List A game, Hodge who had taken over from original team Captain Kirk Edwards, shared in a record Windward partnership for any wicket, of 156 with Alik Athanze (63). 

For the second game in a row following their agonizing two run loss to Trinidad & Tobago Red Force on November 17th, the Windwards seemed to be in a position to win before falling short in the end.

“We knew it would be difficult (for Windwards) to keep scoring at six runs per over, but I thought they batted well, especially Kavem Hodge. Unfortunately he couldn’t bring it home for them.

“They gave us a good fight, but I must give credit to my bowlers. We bowled well, but there is room for improvement because the team has spoken about improving our death bowling and I’m pleased we were able to keep the Windwards to under seven runs per over.”

At Brian Lara Academy: A disciplined team batting and bowling performance from the United States of America (USA) guided them to a 43 run win over West Indies Emerging Players, halting the young Windies side winning streak in the process.