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Day 1: Unbeaten 100 by Guyanese

Hadyn Gill

Guyana 219-8 v Barbados

With the sound, solid approach and almost identical characteristics of one of his famous countrymen, a 16-year-old Guyanese fashioned an impressive hundred against host country Barbados yesterday.

Narsingh Deonarine, a virtual carbon-copy of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, presented a straight, broad bat and hardly played an indiscreet shot for a shade under six hours.

The Guyana vice-captain went to the middle 10 minutes into the first day of the third-round Nortel youth cricket match. By the close, he was unconquered on 115, the third century of the tournament.

It was a day, however, in which Barbados were able to share the spoils by staging a commendable fightback on either side of tea.

Deonarine and 15-year-old Roopnarine Ramgobin were firmly entrenched for 2 1/2 hours in adding 109 for the third wicket when Sulieman Benn triggered a mid-innings slide 20 minutes before the break.

Benn, in his best spell of the tournament, and Callitos Lopez brought Barbados back into the match by capturing five wickets for the addition of 27 runs.

While wickets fell, Deonarine held firm and he was able to find two partners who were able to hang around to accompany him to his century.

A resident of Berbice, 85 miles outside Geeorgtown, Deonarine has so far faced 294 balls and struck eight fours and a straight six off Jedson Yarde's left-arm spin.

Quite apart from the fact that he shares the left-handedness and slim physique of Chanderpaul, he also possesses the more important attributes of impeccable judgement and the ability to despatch bad balls.

The only time he was troubled was just after lunch when Lopez tested him with a couple of unsettling short-pitched deliveries, one of which thudded into his chest.

He weathered the burst and went on to play an innings that justified why he came here with such a big reputation, which was enhanced by his outstanding performance in the 1998 Carib Cement under-15 championship in which he averaged an phenomenal 229 with the bat.

Guyana, sent in after Ryan Hinds maintained a 100 per cent winning record with the toss, lost an early wicket when Antonio Thomas forced Damodar Desrat into edging a catch into the slips from a ball that bounced nicely.

Sewnarine Chattergoon made it into the 20s yet again, but the Guyana captain was unable to convert his promising start into a major contribution. He was the first of Benn's three wickets when he edged a cut to the 'keeper.

Outside of that catch by Damien Maynard, the Barbados wicket-keeper was untidy for the most part and muffed a few chances.

One of them went to Ramgobin early in his innings, but he continued to lend valuable support to Deonarine and by lunch Guyana had reached 86 for two.

At tea it was 163 for four, Barbados claiming the wickets of Ramgobin and Shivrand Madholal just before tea, both scalps taken by the tall Benn.

Day 2: A pair of aces

Haydn Gill

Guyana 250 & 15-0, Barbados 256

The tension was almost unbearable.

With two individuals impressively dominating on opposite sides, it came down to a situation in which Barbados' last man walked onto the ground with three runs needed for first innings lead against six-time defending champions Guyana.

Barbados captain Ryan Hinds was as cool as ever when Antonio Thomas joined him after the hosts had lost yet another wicket against Orvin Mangru's flighted off-spin.

Hinds was 83 and Mangru had just captured his eighth wicket on the way to breaking a 15-year-old record in front of the biggest crowd of the tournament.

Luckily for Hinds, Mangru's over was completed and Thomas did not have to face immediately.

Using all the experience gained from playing at several levels and on many continents, Hinds then skillfully gained the lead for Barbados by advancing down the pitch and hitting left-arm spinner Hemnarine Harrinarine between the two fielders protecting the straight boundaries.

``I decided once he came close to me, I would hit him hard or as far as possible,'' Hinds said.

``I wasn't really nervous. Nothing wasn't really going through my mind. I had confidence in Antonio.''

Mangru, though, denied Hinds his second century of the tournament, by having Thomas caught at slip, first ball.

Hinds was left stranded on 91 not out, his innings spanning 3-1/2 fours and including five fours off 198 balls.

It was an outstanding performance from Mangru, an 18-year-old from Albion playing in his debut tournament.

``The secret of my success was flighting the ball. I like to give the ball a lot of air and draw the batsmen out of the crease,'' he said.

``I realise that when you toss the ball, you're going to get success in this tournament.''

Two of his victims fell to catches at bat-pad, two were snapped up at slip, two skied catches, another was bowled attempting to drive and another was stumped going for an extravagant shot.

Mangru's final figures were 35.4-7-116-9, the best figures since Nortel took over sponsorship of the regional youth championship in 1984.

The previous best was eight for 20 by another off-spinner, Pauliver Rogers, against the Windward Islands, also in Barbados.

As Hinds and Mangru did their stuff, fortunes shifted back and forth between two teams vying for the top placing in Zone B.

Barbados were given an encouraging stand of 61 between Jason Haynes and Jason Parris in which Parris ``roughed up'' Mangru in his third over by despatching him for two fours and a six over long-on.

After Mangru broke the partnership by removing Parris and trapping Kurt Wilkinson lbw on the stroke of lunch, Hinds and Haynes counter-attacked by adding 45 in 25 minutes, before four wickets fell for 21 runs.

The left-handed Haynes was beginning to play with a fair deal of confidence and had reached 43 when he attempted to hit Mangru through mid-wicket and was caught at deep mid-on.

Mangru quickly took care of Vonrick Nurse and Damien Maynard; the former caught at short-leg, the latter stumped, while debutant Rohan Nurse was also taken close in off Harrinarine.

Barbados slumped to 135 for six and it required Callitos Lopez' forthright even 50 in a stand of 82 with Hinds to bring them back into the contest.

During that time, Guyana missed Hinds in successive overs, both chances put down by their captain Sewnarine Chattergoon at extra-cover when Hinds was in the 30s.

Barbados managed 122 runs between lunch and tea and after the break Lopez pulled Mangru's first two balls for a four and a six.

But on reaching his first fifty at this level, Lopez was beaten in flight and caught at extra-cover off the off-spinner.

Sulieman Benn stayed with Hinds for just under an hour as Barbados inched up to Guyana's total, but the innings took another twist when Mangru dismissed Benn and Jedson Yarde in the space of three balls.

Hinds, however, had the final say.

Day 3: Match drawn

Haydn Gill at Queen's Park

Guyana (250 & 163) drew with Barbados (256 & 25-0)

Barbados made a late bid to force an unlikely victory over Guyana yesterday, but the final result always seemed likely for most of the day.

Behind contrasting left-arm spin from Jedson Yarde and Sulieman Benn, the hosts polished off the champions' last six wickets for a mere 28 runs on a predictably low-key final day.

By then, Sewnarine Chattergoon, the Guyana captain and sound opening batsman, had occupied the crease for four hours in compiling a solid 72 that propped up his team's uncertain middle-order.

After mopping up Guyana's tail, Barbados were left with a winning target of 158, but only 20 minutes and the final 15 overs were available to them.

The hosts were without captain Ryan Hinds yesterday. A hamstring injury kept him off the field, but coach Richard Starker said it was not serious enough to rule him out of the semifinal starting tomorrow.

Guyana, resuming on 15 without loss, made measured progress in the first session in which they lost only two wickets.

One of those was the key scalp of first innings century-maker Narsingh Deonarine, the left-hander falling lbw to Benn eight minutes before lunch.

It left more responsibility on Chattergoon, whose elder brother, Hamnarine, made a century on his first Nortel appearance against Barbados three years ago.

He did the job effectively in surviving until 20 minutes before tea when he was surprised to be given out lbw to medium-pacer Vonrick Nurse.

It ended an innings of 72 that included six fours off 216 balls, during which Chattergoon looked the most accomplished batsman against the threatening spinners.

Yarde, as usual, tossing the ball encouragingly, took four wickets including two in his last over, while Benn, flatter and faster but just as dangerous, had three, the first two coming in a lengthy spell that ended just before tea.