Deonarine ton keeps Guyana in hunt for first win

Narsingh Deonarine scored his sixth first-class hundred and the second of the season to put Guyana firmly in control against Combined Campuses & Colleges (CCC) in Georgetown. Replying to CCC's first-innings total of 254, Guyana finished on 275 for 5 with Deonarine unbeaten on 121 off 258 balls, striking 11 fours and a six. Resuming on 24 for 2, Guyana suffered an early setback when they lost Leon Johnson to Boris Hutchinson. Deonarine then partnered with Sewnarine Chattergoon and built a promising partnership. But after putting on 65, Chattergoon fell for 40, caught behind off Khismar Catlin. Deonarine soon brought up his 25th first-class fifty and together with captain Travis Dowlin posted a half-century stand to steer Guyana safely to tea. Dowlin finally fell for 51 with the score on 243 for 5. His responsible innings contained six boundaries as the partnership yielded 142 runs. Deonarine though, continued strongly to reach his second hundred in two weeks, after his 143 against T&T in the seventh round. Catlin was CCC's most successful bowler with 2 for 29.

Allrounder Darren Sammy cracked a quick hundred to give Windward Islands the upper hand in their clash against Barbados at the Kensington Oval. Sammy scored 121 off 140 balls to propel the visitors to 303 all out in reply to Barbados' first-innings score of 192. He came to the Windwards' rescue after they had slipped to 103 for 5, after resuming the day on 64 for 3. He added a crucial 104 for the sixth wicket with captain Rawl Lewis, ensuring first-innings points for the visitors. Sammy, no doubt aware of the upcoming ODI series against England, sent a strong signal to the selectors, striking 14 fours and three sixes during his innings. Lewis, who was also bold in his approach, hit nine fours and a six during his 86-ball 54 before falling to Corey Collymore. Sammy and Shane Shillingford added a further 45 for the seventh wicket to add to Barbados' frustration. At the close, however, Barbados were offering a sound response at 97 for 1, with Kirk Edwards (38) and captain Jason Haynes (31) holding firm with an unbroken 59-run partnership.

The wicketkeeper Patrick Brown, meanwhile, equaled a regional record behind the stumps when he snared his seventh catch. He would have set a new record had he not put down Sammy just after the allrounder passed his hundred.

It was a meek submission from the Trinidad & Tobago batsmen as they conceded first-innings points to Jamiaca at the Alpart Sports Club. Resuming at 18 without loss in pursuit of Jamaica's 275, T&T failed to put on any significant partnerships and were bowled out for a disappointing 190. On a day when 13 wickets tumbled for just 244 runs, T&T opener Adrian Barath was the only batsman who managed to shine, scoring 58 off 91 balls, which comprised eight boundaries. The visitors had a miserable start, losing Imran Khan and captain Daren Ganga early. It was up to Barath and Kieron Pollard (29), to repair the innings with a 47-run stand and put T&T back on course. Barath fell before lunch with the score on 87 for 3 but the visitors lost five quick wickets to slump to 148 for 8 at tea. Darren Bravo, batting down the order, hit a 96-ball 41 including five fours, which helped save face. Fast bowlers Andrew Richardson and Jason Dawes accounted for Trinidad's top order, picking up three and two wickets respectively, before medium pacer Dave Bernard finished off the innings with 3 for 37. T&T's bowlers however, made crucial strikes to leave Jamaica struggling at 54 for 3 at the close.