GUYANA won the Busta International Shield when the four-day showdown title match ended in a tame draw at Sabina Park yesterday.
Set a victory target of 193 in a minimum 57 overs after dismissing a spirited Jamaica 26 minutes after lunch, Guyana, with first innings lead in the bag and the Shield theirs providing they did not lose, settled for a draw with acting captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul, joining the action at 56 for two in the 18th over, defying the home team's bid with a solid, defensive 30 in 105 minutes off 100 deliveries.
Final score, Jamaica 277 and 269, Guyana 354 and 99 for three when play was called off at 4.40 after 50 overs.
Going into the final day on 103 for two, leading by 26 and needing to win the match in order to successively defend the title they won last year when they led Guyana on first innings, Jamaica made a valiant effort before the experienced Chanderpaul, ably assisted by a determined Mahendra Nagamootoo who kept his company for 96 minutes while blocking most of the 74 deliveries bowled at him, stepped in and piloted his team to safety.
Led by a swashbuckling innings by captain Robert Samuels, who struck three mighty sixes and two glorious fours while blasting 61 off 51 deliveries in 95 minutes before he was run out at 264 for nine, Jamaica, going for broke, scored 166 runs off 31.3 overs with 139 coming off 27.4 overs in the 120 minutes before lunch.
It was a wonderful performance, not only by Samuels but also by Wavell Hinds and Ricardo Powell who chipped in with 28 and 39 respectively as Jamaica blasted 73 runs off 15 overs from right-arm leg spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo and left-arm spinner Neil McGarrell in the first hour despite a totally defensive field.
With victory not necessary for Guyana, from the moment Ricardo Powell, promoted up the order and replacing night watchman Ryan Cunningham when he swung ambitiously at left-arm spinner Neil McGarrell and was bowled offstump at 110 for three, drove a flighted delivery from Nagamootoo powerfully through the covers and signalled Jamaica's intention, Chanderpaul ran for cover, spread the field, and stationed five men on the boundary.
In fact when pacer Reon King replaced Nagamootoo at 228 for five 15 minutes before lunch with Samuels on the attack, there was not a fielder within hearing distance of Chanderpaul at extra-cover.
It was so defensive, understandably so, that with wicketkeeper Azib Haniff way back behind the stumps, King at the top of his run, a fielder at point - more than halfway to the boundary, at fielder at deep extra-cover, a fielder at straight mid-wicket - more than halfway to the boundary, and fielders on the boundary's edge at third man, cover, long-off, long-on, mid-wicket and long-leg, Samuels and Gareth Breese looked lonely in the middle.
With a draw as good as a victory as far as winning the title was concerned, with captain Carl Hooper nursing an injured finger, off the field all day, and probably preferring not to bat, Guyana appeared satisfied with a draw at the start of their innings, and with fast bowlers Daren Powell and Jermaine Lawson off target and failing to hand Jamaica the early break-through they desperately needed, the match, but for a few sparks on either side of tea, fizzed to a draw.
After cruising to 53 without loss, Guyana lost Azeemul Haniff - brilliantly run out by Leon Garrick, Sewnarine Chattergoon - caught at slip by Chris Gayle off Cunningham, and Ramnaresh Sarwan - bowled by Cunningham - in the space of seven runs.
At 60 for three in the 24th over, there was an outside chance that it could have gone to the wire.
It did not happen for two reasons. The defensive skills of Chanderpaul and Nagamootoo were too sound, and as accurate as they were, the Jamaica bowlers failed to produce the kind of skill, the guile that was necessary to cut them down.
