PCL: Jaguars top Pride in Kensington grind

Despite a late afternoon blip, Guyana Jaguars emerged winners of the crucial third round encounter against Barbados Pride in Cricket West Indies’ Professional Cricket League Regional Four-day championship on Monday.

In fading light at Kensington Oval, Jaguars slipped to 21-4 in pursuit of 45 for an outright win, before skipper Leon Johnson (11*) and the dependable Raymon Reifer (15*) sealed the six-wicket victory at 48-4 halfway through the ninth over.

Kemar Roach (2-18) and Miguel Cummins (2-24) had combined to rock a reshuffled Jaguars top-order, dismissing Tagenarine Chanderpaul (6), first innings centurion Chandrapaul Hemraj (9), Christopher Barnwell (6) and Sherfane Rutherford (0) cheaply.

The win ensured reigning champions Jaguars remain top of the points table and firmly placed to cop a fifth straight title.

Earlier, Jaguars enforced the follow-on at the start of the day’s play after Pride were dismissed at stumps on day three for 360 in response to Jaguars’ mammoth 548.

Starting their second innings with a huge deficit of 188, Pride piled up 232, a total built on a 107-run fifth wicket partnership between Windies pair Roston Chase and Shane Dowrich.

Chase topscored with 68 and Dowrich made 61, his second fifty of the match. Opener Shayne Moseley scored 32 and Shamarh Brooks 26.

Left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul bagged 4-73 off 25 overs, claiming overall match-figures of 8-197 off 60 overs. Reifer took 3-53 off 23 overs and Romario Shepherd 2-35 off 11.

Guyana Jaguars next play Windward Islands Volcanoes in fourth round action from January 10-13 at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.