ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – West Indies batting star Shimron Hetmyer shone with his seventh A-list hundred while starring in a fifth wicket stand, as Guyana Jaguars tied Windward Volcanoes of 95 runs to secure their berth in the Super50 Regional Cup final tomorrow.
With his side sprinting on 63 for four in the 13th over after being asked to bat first in the semi-final at Coolidge Cricket Ground here yesterday, the 24-year-old produced top-class innings to hit 113 off 80 of deliveries. and drove Jaguars to 305 for seven off their 50 overs.
West Indies player Raymon Reifer, in his first outing of the tournament following the Test series in Bangladesh, hit 90 balls off 104 entertaining balls of his career in pubs of no less importance.
Together, he and Hetmyer plundered the Volcanoes especially in the middle tiers, posting 194 to break 23-year-old Guyana’s record for the fifth wicket.
In response, left-hander Alick Athanaze scored at the top with 58 off 75 deliveries but received no support, and Volcanoes were dismissed for a disappointing 210 with 22 balls remaining.
Kavem Hodge, also in his first match after returning from Bangladesh, chipped in with 28 along with Kevin Stoute while captain Sunil Ambris had 27, but Volcanoes declined rapidly from 144 for four in the 35th over, losing their last six wickets for 66 runs.
Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, the Jaguars’ leading bowler of the tournament, grabbed the key wickets to finish with four for 53 while fellow left-hander Chandrapaul Hemraj pressed with two for 35.
With the win, the Jaguars set up a final meet with Trinidad and Tobago Red Force, who brushed aside the Jamaica Scorpions on Wednesday night.
Afterwards, Jaguars captain Leon Johnson praised the effort from Hetmyer and Reifer, noting that they had taken responsibility as senior players.
“We had a wander in the middle and lost four quick wickets but our international players, Hetty and Raymon showed [their] class today. They dug us out of that hole, ”said Johnson.
“We have asked the older players to put their hands up at critical times and they did it today.”
Fast bowler Ray Jordan (3-45) shook the Jaguars with hostile charm, accounting for opener Tevin Imlach (14), all-rounder Chris Barnwell for eight and Johnson’s valuable wicket for a first ball ‘duck’.
Fellow sailor Ryan John, who claimed three for 42, beat Chandrapaul Hemraj for 24 breezes, catching a short third man in the eighth over after posting 34 for the first wicket with Imlach.
Jordan Imlach was then held down the side of the leg by wicketkeeper Emmanuel Stewart from an innocuous 11th over delivery before beating Barnwell and Johnson in consecutive deliveries in his next fight.
Barnwell pinned a lbw with a yorker on the leg of his leg with the fourth delivery of the 13th over before getting Johnson to the top of the next ball for Stoute to grab an excellent diving catch on his right leg.
Dropped at 12 by Stewart off Jordan plummeting to his left, Hetmyer made the most of the opportunity to gird 11 fours and five sixes in an astonishing combination of power and finesse, while Reifer stroked eight fours and three six.
Hetmyer moved to 99 with Larry Edward, a left-arm spinner, in the 39th over before following up with a long one to reach triple figures.
The left-handed player eventually caught custody of wicketkeeper Stoute off the 41st over and when Reifer nailed it to deep cover 17 balls later off John, the innings collapsed with Jaguars controlling just 49 run of the last 10 overs and goes without a single boundary for the last 46 innings.
“When we dropped Hetty there I think that was the turning point of the game. He is a very vital player for them and I think he played a very special flyer afterwards, ”said a disappointed Ambris.
In response, the 22-year-old Athanaze put 54 for the first wicket with Hodge but the partnership needed 79 deliveries, putting tremendous pressure on the hunt and leaving the required rate at nearly seven runs at a time.
Once Hodge was ruled out by Imlach’s direct hit at the end of the non-striker in the 14th over, Athanaze lasted 23 for the second wicket with Andre Fletcher (8) and another 23 for the third with Ambris, before missing a reverse sweep at Motie and fell lbw in the 27th over after hitting four fours and a six.
Keron Cotty (11) nailed a far off spinner Kevin Sinclair in 30th at 113 for four with the required rate at nearly nine and Ambris hit three fours in a run-to-ball knock, appearing in a run of 31 runs fifth wicket with Stoute, before becoming Motie’s second wicket in the 35th over. Weighing in at 144 for five, he said the volcanoes low pressure and fell below the weight.