Johnson, Motie leads Guyana Jaguars past Hurricanes Leewards
Gudakesh Motie is congratulated by Captain Leon Johnson after grabbing one of his four wickets. (CWI)
Leon Johnson scored an all-important 102 not out to see his team to victory. (file photo)
Kaieteur News – Gudakesh Motie’s man of the match took 4 for 45, but Shipper Leon Johnson’s excellent batter with a cautious 102 not out, assisted by Christopher Barnwell with 49 as the pair put in 101 runs. between them to be the key factor that saw the Guyana Jaguars home against Hurricanes Leewards in the latest match of the Indian Cricket India’s CG Insurance Super50 (CWI) tournament at the Coolidge Ground in Antigua yesterday.
Jaguars won the toss and sent the Hurricanes bat and put together a good start and appeared to score 300 or more as openers Kieran Powell 94 and Ross Powell 61 split in opening stand 152 run.
Gudakesh Motie as he stepped in during his 4 wicket match yesterday. (CWI)
Nial Smith was also impressive for the Guyana Jaguars. (CWI)
But once the Jaguars saw the back of the pair, only Devon Thomas with 24 made any real contribution as they closed their innings at 244 for 9 off their 50 overs.
Gudakesh Motie hit the stunning shot to account for the two openers as he grabbed 4 for 45. He had excellent support from Nial Smith with 3 for 47 and Romario Shepherd 2-50 as the Jaguars applied the brakes.
Set 245 to win, the Guyana Jaguars saw openers Chanderpaul Hemraj (24) and Assad Fudadin (22) put on 45 as the Hurricanes made it difficult in pursuit. Once the openers along with Shimron Hetmyer (9), who had run out, left, it was rebuilt and consolidated by Johnson and Barnwell. It was slow going at the start by the pair but they stuck to the task and eventually started clicking, giving away the bad balls and rotating the strike.
Kieran Powell led the Hurricanes Leewards batting with 94 at the top of the pubs. (CWI)
Ross Powell scored 61 in an opening 150 plus stand with Kieran Powell. (CWI)
Johnson took the lead and showed the final result as the skipper led from the front. When Barnwell left and then Anthony Bramble (2), Shepherd joined the fray and, along with his captain, saw the Jaguars home from five wickets with 13 balls remaining, in the process despite a minor injury, he fought through a pain to grab a well-deserved fountain.
The Guyana Jaguars now sit atop the stand with 8 points after a perfect run. They will be back in action tomorrow when they face the Jamaica Scorpions on the Coolidge Ground from 1:30 pm.
However, the tournament will continue today from the same time in the same venue with what promises to be another good fight. Trinidad and Tobago Red Force are coming up against Windward Islands Volcanoes in today’s match.
Scores: Hurricanes Leewards 244 for 9 off 50 overs (Kieran Powell 94, Ross Powell 61, Devon Thomas 24; Gudakesh Motie 4-45, Nial Smith 3-47, Romario Shepherd 2-50) lost to Guyana Jaguars 245 for 5 off 47.5 overs (Leon Johnson 102 not out, Christopher Barnwell 49, Chanderpaul Hemraj 24, Assad Fudadin 22) by 5 wickets.
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