da betcris： A nail-biting finish to the first semi-final of the Red Stripe Bowlsaw Guyana advance to the final ahead of home side Jamaica, in spiteof a tied result
Staff Reporter11-Oct-2001A nail-biting finish to the first semi-final of the Red Stripe Bowlsaw Guyana advance to the final ahead of home side Jamaica, in spiteof a tied result. Having won one match more in the preliminary roundthan Jamaica, Guyana was on safe ground as soon as the scores werelevelled.Guyanese captain Carl Hooper, winning the toss, asked his oppositionto bat, hoping to take full toll of a pitch oozing with moisture.Jamaica made an indifferent start, being 75/5 at one stage, beforecaptain Robert Samuels took charge, producing a mature 52 off 62balls. Gareth Breese’s 49-ball 42 further boosted the Jamaican total,helping them to reach 191 for nine in 50 overs.The total looked sufficient as Guyana trod a similar path to theirrivals’; a combination of moist conditions and a new ball saw themteetering at 58/3. Hooper and Ramnaresh Sarwan then collaborated on aninvaluable stand of 56 runs.Both departed in quick succession, forcing Guyana to dig deep into theabilities of its lower order to come up with the remaining runs. With12 balls remaining, they still needed 18 to win; with an over left,they needed 11. Marlon Samuels, who finished with sloppy figures of8-0-48-1, and careless Jamaican fielding contrived to gift Guyana theneeded runs. Colin Stuart, who made a vital 14, was run out off thelast ball with just one run required for an outright victor, leavingboth scores exactly level. The rules being clear, the lively Jamaicancrowd was silenced off the penultimate ball itself, with the result ofthe final delivery being purely academic.Guyana will now face the winner of the other semi-final, betweenBarbados and Trinidad & Tobago, which is to be played on Friday. Thefinal is scheduled for Sunday.