Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer
Brendan Nash on his way to a gritty 91 against Guyana at Sabina Park yesterday.

Tony Becca, Contributing Editor

BRENDAN NASH, the 30-year-old Australian-born left-hander who paraded his skills for Queensland up to a year or so ago, was the toast of the fans at Sabina Park yesterday as Jamaica survived a tough battle against Guyana to claim a first innings lead.

Joining the action the previous afternoon with Jamaica on 28 for three in reply to Guyana's first innings of 171, and still there with the home team sliding at 106 for six before lunch yesterday, Nash, batting as if his life and not so much his place in the team depended on a good performance, rescued the land of his mother and father before finishing on a chanceless 91 not out and winning a place in the hearts of the grateful Jamaicans in the stands.

At stumps on the second day of the third-round Carib Beer match, the scoreboard read: Guyana 171 and 59 for one with Assad Fudadin on 25 and Leon Johnson on 28 and Jamaica 240.

Jamaica favoured

With two days to go and with the first two days being close and exciting, the contest appears heading towards a close finish with Jamaica, two from two, nevertheless favoured to defeat Guyana who are still without a point after losing their two matches to date.

In missing his fourth first-class century while ticking off his highest score for Jamaica after scores of four, two and 22, in carrying Jamaica into the lead and in stretching the lead to 69, Nash, who batted for 300 minutes, faced 263 deliveries, stroked six fours and hit one six, had three good partners in Wavell Hinds, 53, Nikita Miller, 34, and last man Andrew Richardson who scored 22.

With Jamaica resuming on 56 for three, Hinds, 37 overnight, and Nash, on four, extended their fourth-wicket partnership of 28 to 55 before Hinds attempted to pull pacer Trevon Garraway, mistimed the stroke, and skied a catch to substitute Royston Crandon trotting in from long-off.

That was 83 for four. It was 105 for five when David Bernard Jr., on 12, played forward to left-arm spinner Veersammy Permaul bowling around the wicket and tapped a catch to Leon Johnson at forward short-leg.

Trapped lbw

It became 106 for six when Carlton Baugh Jr. shuffled across his wicket, attempted a defensive stroke, missed the ball, and was leg before to off-spinner Zaheer Mohammed for zero.

With Jamaica 65 runs adrift of Guyana's first innings with only four wickets in hand, with Nash on 24 after adding only 20 runs to his overnight score in 79 minutes, Miller joined the action, and with Nash surprising not only the bowler but also the handful of spectators on hand by going back and pulling a short delivery from Permaul on to the roof of the clubhouse behind square leg, the number eight batsman found some inspiration and played his part in an important but also entertaining seventh-wicket partnership of 81 runs in 30 overs.

In probably his best innings for Jamaica, Miller, going forward to the spin bowlers when he should and back when he should, looked at ease at the crease, and before he ran past a well-flighted delivery down the leg-side from Permaul bowling around the wicket, between umpire Maurice Chung and the stumps, and was stumped at 187 for seven, he played some delightful strokes.

In an innings which lasted for 93 minutes and 70 deliveries, Miller stroked four boundaries, three of them coming in one over off Permaul when the right-hander went back and cut twice to the third-man boundary before going forward and driving over mid-off to the long-off boundary.

With the lead behind him, Nash, who picked off two boundaries off Permaul earlier, leaned forward and drove Esuan Crandon effortlessly to the extra-cover boundary before, with a touch of savagery, he went back, in the same over, and pulled the pacer to the long-on boundary, the ball flashing past the heels of the unfortunate bowler.

When Richardson joined Nash, the score was 195 for nine, the number five batsman was on 72, an he made a desperate attempt to chalk up his first century for his country, he was left stranded when, after smashing two sixes off successive deliveries from Permaul, after cooling it and trying to stay with his senior partner for as long as he could, Richardson, in the first over with the second new ball, drove at Garraway and was bowled.

early breakthrough

Left with 27 overs to the end of the day's play, Jamaica made an early breakthrough when fast bowler Jermaine Lawson, following up on his five-wicket haul in the first innings, trapped 20-year-old left-hander Gajanand Singh leg before for two at nine for one in the third over.

With the sun sinking in the west, however, with the shadows stretching across the field, Johnson, another 20-year-old left-hander, drove Lawson twice to the long-off boundary to suggest that Guyana are still in with a chance, and a good one at that.

AT CAVE HILL, Barbados, the Combined Campuses and Colleges, ahead of Barbados by 63 runs on first innings, reached 138 for seven in their second innings at the Three Ws Oval yesterday.

SCORES: COMBINED CC 202 (Floyd Reifer 70, Nekoli Parris 52; Pedro Collins 4-30, Tino Best 4-37, Sulieman Benn 2-39) and 138 for seven (Romel Currency 35, Simon Jackson 24, Floyd Reifer 22; Tino Best 4-39, Sulieman Benn 3-41). BARBADOS 139 (Dwayne Smith 35, Ryan Hinds 35, Jason Haynes 17; Jason Bennett 6-59).

AT PHILIPSBURG, St Maarten, play was abandoned midway the scheduled last session on the second day of the rain-hit match between Trinidad and Tobago and the Leeward Islands at Carib Lumber Park.

Bad weather had reduced the morning session to only 23 minutes after rain chased the players off the field at 9:53 a.m. - with T&T on 178 for four - and there was no more play for the remainder of the day.SCORE: T&T 178 for four (Rayad Emrit 56 not out, Lendl Simmons 47, Gibran Mohammed 43 not out).

Scoreboard

Guyana first innings 171Jamaica first innings

(Resumed at 56 for three)

W. Hinds c (sub) R. Crandon b Garraway