Junior Dowie
Jamaica's Leon Garrick plays through the offside during his innings of 115 at Sabina Park yesterday. Guyana wicketkeeper Andre Percival looks on.AT STUMPS on Friday's opening day of the Busta Series cricket match at Sabina Park, Guyana were riding high on 225 for three and Jamaica appeared in trouble.
At stumps on yesterday's second day, however, things were different.
At that time, the scoreboard read: Guyana 267, Jamaica 177 for four, and although Guyana can turn around today and do to Jamaica what Jamaica did to them yesterday, Jamaica, trailing by 90 runs with captain Robert Samuels and Mario Ventura at the crease, Gareth Breese and Laurie Williams to come, were in the saddle and looking good.
In a wonderful performance, Jamaica, the same Jamaica which had toiled for so little on the opening day, grabbed six wickets for 42 runs in 20.3 overs in the first 88 minutes of the day's play and then, but for the loss of two wickets towards the end of the day's play, one behind the other, settled in nicely after losing one wicket in the second over of their innings.
The star with the ball as Guyana lost three wickets for 10 runs in six overs at the start of the eclipse was medium pacer Williams.
Apart from taking two wickets for 16 runs in eight overs during which he skilfully cut the ball both ways off the seam, Williams made a brilliant throw to run out Reon King.
The star with the bat was Leon Garrick who charmed the gathering with a lovely innings of 115.
In an innings that lasted for 224 minutes and 211 deliveries, the little man not only ticked off his fifth century in the regional tournament, but he also stroked 16 delightful boundaries.
Both men were well supported - Williams by offspinner Breese, Dwight Mais and Samuels in the field, and by fast bowler Darrell Powell who snatched two wickets for seven runs in 4.3 overs, Garrick by Keith Hibbert who contributed a solid 29 in a 96-run second-wicket partnership that lasted for 132 minutes and 225 deliveries, and by Ricardo Powell who scored 22 during a third-wicket partnership of 65.
Jamaica's recovery started in the second over of the morning when Williams, bowling from the south, trapped Hamchand Pooran, 68 overnight, leg before wicket for 72 at 230 for four - the right-hander playing to leg and destroyed by a delivery that cut towards the offstump.
Breese, flighting his offspinners from the north, removed the dangerous Andre Percival at 235 for five in the following over - caught on the second attempt by Mais at mid-on; and Guyana were really on the run three overs later when Williams, with the help of Samuels, sent Azeemul Haniff packing for 74 at 235 for six.
Haniff, 73 overnight after opening the innings, was the victim of a super delivery and a super catch - the ball, pitched on a good length and cut away from the left-hander, nicked the edge and flew to second slip where Samuels went to his left for a low two-handed catch.
With Brenton Parchment going in the second over of the innings - caught by substitute wicketkeeper Percival off Kevin Darlington for zero at four for one, Jamaica were off to a disappointing start.
Garrick was in top form, however, Hibbert, promoted to No. 3 after batting at No. 8 in the previous match, was solid, and together they denied Guyana another wicket before, in the over to tea, Hibbert, probably carried away by the hand claps that greeted a lovely drive to the long-off boundary off Lennox Cush, attempted to drive the medium-pacer again, was beaten through the air, and lofted a catch to Pooran at long-on.
With Garrick and Ricardo Powell batting well, Jamaica appeared all set to bat out the day without further loss when, to the astonishment of the fans, both were back in the pavilion.
Garrick, dropped by wicketkeeper Azib Haniff at 96 when he edged an attempted to cut legspinner Mahendra Nagamootoo and mistumped at 111, also off Nagamootoo, drove a return catch to fast bowler Reon King at 165 for three, and Ricardo Powell, dropped at slip at 17 by Travis Dowlin off King, played forward tentatively to Cush and was bowled at 169 for four.
Up until then, it was a great day for Jamaica, a day on which Garrick played five unforgettable strokes - a back foot shot through the covers off King, a front-foot drive through the covers off King, a back foot drive off Darlington through the covers, a front-foot drive to the long-off boundary off King, and probably the best of all, a square-cut, on the right knee, off King as he stepped from 98 to 102.
