PCL: Jaguars thump Red Force by 219 runs

It took over an hour on the final day to seal the inevitable for Guyana Jaguars, as they crushed Trinidad and Tobago Red Force by 219 runs in their Regional Four-Day match at the National Stadium, Providence, on Sunday morning.

Red Force started the day 122-6, needing 281 more for an improbable victory; Jaguars needed just four wickets on a pitch with invariable bounce.

Akeal Hosein did not add to this overnight score of five, edging Nial Smith behind. Terrance Hinds and the overnight batsman, Yannick Ottley (22), added 30 in an entertaining stand, however, both departed in the space of two balls.

Veerasammy Permaul, who picked up his 500^th First-Class wicket on the penultimate afternoon, snapped up the last wicket of Odean Smith as the visitors lost their final four wickets for 65 runs in 13.2 overs.

Permaul, arguably in his most memorable First-Class match, ended with a match haul of 8-71.

After the match, Permaul was presented with a trophy by Guyana Cricket Board’s Territorial Development Officer, Colin Stuart, in recognition of him reaching 500 First-Class wickets.

Post-Match Comments

Jaguars Head Coach, Esuan Crandon: “Very good win for us, we stamped our authority at home. Before the game, I asked the guys to come out and play some good cricket, come out and own the conditions and I thought we did pretty well in that regards. Once we batted well in the first innings and got over 300 runs, we know what to expect from this track. I thought the guys played well and unfortunately none of them went on to get a hundred. It is something we really want these guys to convert these half-centuries into centuries. The bowlers did well in the first innings and we batted again to put some pressure on them since we know it would be difficult to bat last with the bounce being variable.”

Red Force Coach, Mervyn Dillon: “When you don’t score 300 runs in either innings, your back is always against the wall. Cricket is a game where you will have this and you will lose. I don’t think we played anywhere close to the cricket that we have shown that we are capable of in the first two games of the season. If you look at how we batted in both innings, the results show.”

The championship has entered its first break and upon resumption, Jaguars will face Jamaica Scorpions from February 6 at Providence.