Jamaica's captain, James Adams, poses with the Busta International Shield yesterday at Sabina Park. - Junior Dowie By Tony Becca,
Senior Sport Editor
JAMAICA won the first hold on the Busta International Shield when, as expected, they led Guyana on first innings in the drawn final at Sabina Park yesterday.
In winning the Shield, Jamaica rounded off a successful season during which they finished third in the race for the Busta Cup, eliminated Cup champions Barbados in the semi-finals of the Shield, and were simply too good for Guyana in the final.
For Guyana, first innings victors over Jamaica in the preliminary round of the Busta Series, it was second time unlucky.
After finishing tied on points with Barbados in the Cup, Guyana had to settle for the runners-up spot to Barbados who won four matches in the preliminary round compared to their three.
Final score when play was called off at 4.15 yesterday: Jamaica 375 and 161 for four, Guyana 290.
Going into the final day of the four-day contest with Guyana on 258 for eight and still 117 runs in arrears, with the match heading for a draw and the title set to be decided on first innings, Jamaica, despite an unbroken ninth-wicket partnership of 57 between Neil McGarrell and Colin Stuart, were hot favourites to win the lead and take the championship.
Guyana, however, were determined to fight all the way, McGarrell, 40 overnight, and Stuart, 15, started off where they had left off the previous afternoon, and with McGarrell stroking the ball confidently and Stuart steering and clipping pacer Courtney Walsh for boundaries to thirdman and fine-leg, with pacer Franklyn Rose going around the wicket with no success, Jamaica went through the first hour without getting the breakthrough.
Suddenly, however, in successive overs, the innings was over.
Replacing Walsh from the north, offspinner Gareth Breese tempted McGarrell, on 52, to hit across the line in his second over, and in response to a loud appeal for leg before wicket, umpire Steve Bucknor lifted the right index finger to make it 290 for nine after a ninth-wicket partnership of 89.
In the following over, Stuart, on a career-best 32, swung at offspinner Nehemiah Perry and skied a catch to Rose at long-off.
With Jamaica boasting a lead of 85, with only 72 overs to go, and with the odds against Guyana pulling off a miracle and winning the match, the only interest in the remaining action was Christopher Gayle's hunt for the 106 runs he needed to reach 1,000 runs in the series and to win the West Indies Cricket Board's prize of US$50,000.
The big Jamaican went for it, but after smashing eight boundaries off 83 deliveries, and with some 40 overs to go, he went at right-arm legspinner Mahendra Nagamootoo, lofted a catch to Seonarine Chattergoon at long-off and departed for 51 to finish with 945 runs - nine short of Carl Hooper's series best of 954.
SCOREBOARD
Jamaica first innings 375
Guyana first innings
(Resumed at 285-8)
| R | M | B | 4 | 6 |
| N. McGarrell lbw Breese | 52 | 195 | 153 | 6 | 0 |
| C. Stuart c Rose b Perry | 33 | 196 | 136 | 3 | 0 |
| R. King not out | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Extras: (lb3, nb13) 16
Total: (622 mins, 160.2 overs) 290
Fall: 58 (2), 71 (3), 85 (4), 85 (1), 104 (5), 197 (6), 197 (7), 201 (9), 290 (8), 290 (10)
Bowling: F. Rose 27-7-70-2 nb 8(6-0-21-0 nb2, 6-2-9-0 nb3, 8-2-24-2 nb2, 7-3-16-0 nb1)
L. Williams: 18-3-44-0 nb3(2-0-5-0 nb1, 8-1-24-0 nb2, 4-0-12-0, 4-2-3-0)
C.Walsh: 30-12-51-2 (5-3-4-0, 8-4-10-1 nb1, 4-2-3-0, 8-3-13-1, 5-0-21-0)
G. Breese: 38-21-47-3 (14-10-6-0, 11-6-21-2, 5-1-12-0, 6-4-5-0, 2-0-3-1)
N. Perry: 30.2-9-49-1 nb1 (12-5-14-1, 4-1-6-0, 5-0-15-0, 6-2-12-0 nb1, 3.2-1-2-1)
J. Adams: 9-4-16-1(5-3-5-1, 1-0-6-0, 3-1-5-0)
M. Samuels: 4-2-2-0(2-1-1-0, 2-1-1-0)
C. Gayle: 4-0-8-0
50 - 84 mins, 128 balls, 100 - 229 mins, 394 balls, 150 - 341 mins, 566 balls, 200 - 417 mins, 688 balls, 250 - 536 mins, 855 balls.
First hour: (start of day's play 81-2, 195 mins, 56 overs) - 104-4, 73 overs, lunch - 144-5, 88 overs, third hour - 183-5, 106 overs, tea - 206-8, 116 overs, fifth hour - 232-8, 131 overs.
Jamaica second innings
| L. Garrick c Haniff b Stuart | 11 | 26 | 24 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Gayle c Chattergoon b M. Nagamootoo | 51 | 123 | 83 | 8 | 0 |
| M. Samuels c McGarrell b Nagamootoo | 21 | 83 | 63 | 2 | 0 |
| K. Hibbert c Sarwan b Chanderpaul | 44 | 125 | 131 | 8 | 0 |
| J. Adams not out | 28 | 112 | 105 | 2 | 0 |
Extras: (b1, lb1, nb4) 6
Total: 161 for four
Fall: 14 (1), 74 (3), 93 (2), 161 (4)
Bowling: R. King8-5-18-0 (4-3-1-0, 4-2-17-0)
C. Stuart 7-1-29-1 nb3
N. McGarrell 24-11-46-0 (1-0-6-0, 23-11-40-0)
M. Nagamootoo 23-9-50-2 nb1
S. Chattergoon 2-0-5-0
S. Chanderpaul 2-0-7-1
A. Haniff 1-0-4-0
50 - 72 mins, 90 balls, 100 - 137 mins, 207 balls, 150 - 223 mins, 283 balls.
Toss: Jamaica.
Umpires: Steve Bucknor - Jamaica, Billy Doctrove - Dominica.
Result: Draw - Jamaica led on first innings.
