Guyana win to move into semis

Port-of-Spain, Trinidad – Fast bowler Ronsford Beaton took three vital wickets as Guyana beat Windward Islands by 22 runs in Match 6 of the NAGICO Super50 at Queen’s Park Oval on Tuesday night.

The tall 21-year-old ended with career-best figures of 3-43 as Guyana bowled out Windwards for 213 chasing a target of 236 to win. With the victory Guyana booked a place in the semi-finals, and also allowed Jamaica to reach the semis. The other two teams in Zone A – Ireland and Windwards – therefore cannot making the semis.

In his first spell Beaton bowled the ball of the tournament so far – a classic yorker – which uprooted the middle stump of opener Devon Smith. He went on to get two other wickets which helped to restrict the Windwards batting.

In the closing stages left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul took 3-24 – including the final wicket of Liam Sebastien which sealed the victory. He also held a sharp catch at backward point to dismiss the dangerous Mervin Matthew for 24.

“Getting Devon Smith early on was the perfect start as he can be a dangerous batsman for them,” said Beaton. “I tried to hit my areas and let the ball do the work. We knew we did not make a huge score but we knew we could defend it…and we did so.”

The NAGICO Super50 continues on Wednesday with a Zone B match between T&T Red Force and Leeward Islands at Shaw Park in Tobago.

Summarized scores: Guyana 235-7 off 50 overs (Ramnaresh Sarwan 62, Christopher Barnwell 51, Assad Fudadin 51; Mervin Mathew 4-41) Windward Islands 213 off 46.4 overs (Johnson Charles 35, Keddy Lesporis 33, Tyrone Theophile  31, Mervin Mathew 24; Veerasammy Permaul 3-24, Ronsford Beaton 3-43)