Ramdin 75 props up T&T at Oval

Skipper Denesh Ramdin led from the front with an unbeaten 75, as T&T finished the first day of their third round regional four-day clash against Guyana at the Oval on a comfortable 269 for five.

When Ramdin came to the crease his side was stuttering on 115 for four and when play was called he walked off with all-rounder Imran Khan with the score reading 269 for five—testament of his good work. 

He batted with great poise and marshalled the middle order well to remain unbeaten on 75 in 216 minutes of batting. He faced a total of 172 balls and struck 13 fours. Khan also batted well and finished on 41 not out in 127 minutes, facing 108 balls and striking four fours.

The duo ended a good day for T&T after opener Lendl Simmons and middle order batsman Darren Bravo carved half-centuries.

Earlier, when play was called, in front of a crowd of about 200 fans, Guyana asked T&T to take first strike on a good batting strip. Simmons, fresh from two good knocks for the West Indies against Zimbabwe, and Adrian Barath, who recorded two half-centuries against the Leewards, got to work and looked unfussed during their association of 23 runs. 

However, as the saying goes, when you are bored you look for trouble and that is exactly what happened to Barath. Nothing the Guyanese sent down to him looked as if it would have gotten him out, so he decided to out himself. He played an injudicious shot to part-timer Assad Fudadin and was caught by Shivnarine Chanderpaul for 12.

Simmons continued in the same vein as he did in the T20s against Zimbabwe and played some audacious shots that were met with great appreciation from the crowd. 

He batted attractively but always with caution and in the end, when a hundred looked his, he gave it away at 51, caught by Shiv Chanderpaul off skipper Veerasammy Permaul. His innings came from just 67 balls and was spiced with nine fours. 

The elegant Darren Bravo took over and the drive was his honey pot. Time and time again he sweetly drilled the ball through the well-populated cover field and looked in prime form. After the fall of Simmons, Darren’s elder brother Dwayne came in and left just before lunch for a 'duck' and at the break the score read 105 for three. 

With calls for his inclusion in the West Indies Test team, Keiron Pollard was presented with the perfect situation to address the selectors. He, however, failed to connect with them as he went back for six. At that point T&T was 115 for four. 

Application was required at that point and skipper Denesh Ramdin was the man coming in with that message. He and Bravo showed great care with their batting and played each ball on merit. Slowly, they inched the score along until Bravo was brilliantly caught by Sarwan off Deonarine at first slip to end his hand at 66.

In all he faced 136 balls, sending six rolling over the ropes and two over it for sixes.

At 182 for five more of the same application was needed and Ramdin was prepared to do just that. He found a perfect foil in all-rounder Imran Khan and they added an unbroken 87 runs for the sixth wicket, giving T&T a great chance of getting past the 300-run mark today.

When the Guyana team was announced yesterday morning, Shiv Chanderpaul and his son Tagnarine were named in the final XI and it represented only the second time that a father and son combination was playing a regional first class match together.

The first instance of this happening was way back in 1922 when the T&T father/son combination of Lebrun Constantine and Learie Constantine represented this country in the finals of the intercolonial tournament against Barbados at the Bourda Oval in Georgetown, Guyana.

Play on the second day today begins at 10 am.

SCOREBOARD
TT vs Guyana
TT inns

A Barath c S Chanderpaul b Fudadin    12
L Simmons c S Chanderpaul b Permaul    51 
DM Bravo c Sarwan b Narsingh    66
DJ Bravo c Sarwan b Permaul    0
K Pollard Beaton b Permaul    6 
D Ramdin not out    75
I Khan not out    41
Extras b9, lb2, w5, nb2    18
Total 5 wkts    269
Fall of wkts: 23, 91, 103, 115, 182.
Bowling: R Beaton 17-6-43-0 (nb1), P Wintz 11-5-30-0 (w3), A Fudadin 6-3-21-1 (w2), V Permaul 22-9-58-3, D Bishoo 21-6-54-0 (1nb), N Deonarine 11-3-39-1, R Sarwan 1-0-12-0, S Chanderpaul 1-0-1-0. 

Other scores
At 3W’s Oval: 
Combined Campuses & Colleges vs Leeward Islands
CCC 180 all out (Raymon Reifer 45, Shacaya Thomas 35; Larry Joseph 3-32, Gavin Tonge 3-55, Anthony Martin 2-36) vs LEEWARDS 62 for three (Kieran Powell 28). Leewards trail CCC by 118 runs.

At National Stadium:
Jamaica vs Windward Islands
JAMAICA 207 (Nikita Miller 55, Dave Bernard 52) vs WINDWARDS 41 without loss (Johnson Charles 23 not out). Windwards trail by 166 runs

Gallery: http://www.guardian.co.tt/gallery/tt-vs-guyana