Jamaica's cricketers (from left) Jermaine Lawson, Carlton Baugh Jr., Odean Brown and Lorenzo Ingram stand defectedly at the presentation ceremony after suffering a three-wicket loss to Guyana in their Stanford 20/20 quarter-final match at the Stanford Cricket Ground in Antigua on Saturday night. - Contributed
ST JOHN'S, Antigua (CMC):
Esaun Crandon lashed a belligerent 71 off 39 balls to guide Guyana to an exciting three-wicket quarter-final victory over Jamaica at the Stanford Cricket Ground on Saturday night.
Crandon, originally slotted to bat at No. 10, was sent in as a pinch-hitter at No. 3 and responded by belting 12 fours and a six to inspire a win for Guyana that was completed with one over to spare.
Before a packed ground that included several supporters of both teams, the left-handed Crandon jolted the Jamaicans in spite of a three-wicket burst from pacer Jermaine Lawson as Guyana reached a target of 164 when Andre Percival lifted Jerome Taylor for six over mid-wicket.
Playing more responsibly
Crandon threw caution to the wind at the start, blasting Taylor for four successive boundaries in the sixth over of the innings before playing more responsibly in the face of a steady flow of wickets.
He eventually succumbed when he gave a catch in the deep that at was taken by Donovan Pagon on the second attempt after running in from the mid-wicket boundary.
The match was still in the balance when Crandon departed with Guyana still requiring another 38 runs from 26 balls, but Percival, with 17 not out from nine balls and Imran Khan who hit 23 off 15 balls, batted intelligently to seal victory to the delight of jubilant Guyana supporters.
Man-of-the-Match award
Crandon, who was dropped on 38 by Pagon running in from deep mid-wicket, kept going to play the innings of his life that earned him the US$25,000 Man-of-the-Match award.
Percival took the US$10,000 Play-of-the-Match award for his match-winning six.
Jamaica's offering of 163 for six off their 20 overs was given the impetus at the top by the explosive Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels and the tempo was sustained by captain Wavell Hinds amid three stoppages for rain.
Choosing to bat first on winning the toss, Jamaica lost Xavier Marshall for his second successive duck of the tournament when he was bowled by pacer Crandon to the last ball of the first over.
Gayle and Samuels immediately set about the destruction by featuring in a second wicket partnership of 54 off 5.3 overs.
The left-handed Gayle smashed 36 off 31 balls that included three fours and a six, while Samuels blasted 32 from only 20 balls with three fours and two sixes.
They were especially severe on Crandon who was lashed for 26 runs in the fifth over.
The dismissal of Samuels led to a slump that was triggered by off-spinner Narsingh Deonarine, but Hinds kept Jamaica in the hunt with an important 44 off 33 balls that contained three fours and a six.
Guyana will meet Grenada in the first semi-final on August 10 at 7 p.m., while the second semi-final the next day brings together Trinidad and Tobago, who beat Barbados by 46 runs in Saturday's early game, and Nevis.
The grand final, in which the teams are competing for US$1 million, is on August 13.
