Permaul destroys Scorpions - Guyanese spinner bags career-best eight for 18

Sunday Gleaner Writer

On a rain-affected day where two hours of play were lost and 17 wickets fell, a mesmerising spell of spin bowling from Veerasammy Permaul carried the Guyana Jaguars to a seven-wicket win over the Jamaica Scorpions on day three of their West Indies Championship encounter at the Trelawny Multipurpose Stadium.

The left-arm spin wizard bagged a career-best eight for 18 from 11.4 overs, to bamboozle the Scorpion batters who could only manage 111 in their second innings after the Jaguars had made 304 replying to Jamaica’s first-innings score of 216.

Chasing 24 runs for victory, Guyana lost three wickets before they eventually got over the line as off-spinner Jamie Merchant bagged three for six runs.

The rain-curtailed day, however, belonged to the diminutive Man of the Match Permaul who ended with match figures of 15 for 77 as the Jamaica Scorpion batters had no clue to the spin and guile of the left-hander.

POSITIVE START

Facing a deficit of 88 runs after the Jaguars added 17 runs to their overnight 287 for six with Visual Singh failing to add to his overnight 97, the Jamaicans started their second innings positively with captain John Campbell and Alwyn Williams looking to erase the deficit quickly with a blistering 75-run opening stand.

But when Permaul came into the attack in the 19th over, the left-hander knocked back the off stump of Williams for the second time in the match for 18.

When Permaul had Jermaine Blackwood caught at mid-on for six at 85 for two, the Scorpion batters came and went with regularity thereafter, as they failed to negate the spin and bounce of Permaul.

The left-arm spinner grabbed the next five scalps including the wicket of captain John Campbell for a top score of 66 as the Jamaicans were in tatters at 98 for six. Off-spinner Kevin Sinclair came to the party, as he made his presence felt when he picked up the wickets of Dennis Bulli and Patrick Harty Jr for one and nought, respectively, as the hosts’ innings folded for 111.

Set 24 to win, the Jaguars made a meal of the run chase with Jamie Merchant extracting spin and bounce to pry out the wickets of Tagenarine Chanderpaul (2), Kevin Sinclair (9) and Leon Johnson (2) with Guyana on 19 for three.

Vishual Singh, five, and Christopher Barnwell, four, then saw the visitors over the line without further loss as the Jaguars claimed their third win of the campaign and handed the Scorpions their second loss.

Final scores: Jamaica Scorpions, 216 and 111; Guyana Jaguars, 304 and 24 for three.