2010 Champions League T20: Lions rout out poor Guyana
Lions crushed Guyana in a 2010 Champions League T20 match at Johannesburg enabling them to further consolidate their position to make it to the last four. Lions produced an all-round performance as they outclassed their Caribbean counterparts in every department,
winning in the end by nine wickets. Guyana’s batsmen once again failed to make any impact, posting a nominal 148 score which was easily chased by the Lions steered by their duo of Richard Cameron and Alviro Petersen. After this defeat, Guyana is certainly
out of contention for reaching the semi-finals.
Guyana’s batsmen displayed a lack of discipline as they tried to thrash every delivery which was fully exploited by Lions’ bowlers. At one stage, Guyana was reduced to 88 for 6 but some sensible batting in the end allowed them to post a somewhat respectable
total. Lions’ bowling attack was led by the pacer, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Craig-Alexander-c1288, who fully made use of the movement, offered by the pitch as he tore through Guyana batting line-up in his opening spell. Guyana seemed troubled right from the start as Travis Dowlin luckily
survived an extremely close lbw call on the first ball of the match.
However, he returned to the pavilion in the next over to make way for Ramnaresh Sarwan. Despite having rich international experience, Sarwan did not exhibit any discipline as he came out firing. After hitting four boundaries in just five deliveries, he was
removed through some brilliant fielding from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Jacobs-c65213 provided some stability as he took Guyana from 42 for 3 to 77 at the
end of 11th over.
Lions fought back as they exploited some poor running to remove Christopher Barnwell and Esuan Crandon. Jacobs also lost his wicket after he mistimed his stroke for a catch at long-off. Lennox Cush provided some boost in the dying overs as he made 19 off
10 that featured a massive six over long off. Ethan O'Reilly was the most distinguished bowler for Lions as he ended the match with his career-best figures of 4 for 27.
Meanwhile, Lions started the chase confidently with boundaries from both of the openers in the opening over. Removal of Johnathan Vandiar brought Richard Cameron, who along with Peterson steered home favorites to a comfortable victory. Peterson sparked his
innings by hitting a massive six at the long-on from the bowling of Esuan Crandon. It seemed as a run-fest after that as both Cameron and Peterson punished Guyana’s bowlers. They remained unbeaten on 78 and 57 respectively when they chased the target with
nine wickets still in hand while five overs to spare.
While commenting on his team’s performance, Lions’ captain Peterson said: “We came into the tournament having decided that we will take it one ball at a time. It's a big game for us and if we prepare well, like we did for this match then I think we have
a good chance. Richard batted beautifully and I was just hanging in there. He has really made that No. 3 spot his own” However, he added that it was important for him to lead the team from the front especially in such important matches.
He also praised his bowlers saying, “It's nice to be able to get guys of Craig's and Ethan's pace bowling together. Ethan is a regular in our team and he showed his class with the ball.” On the other hand, Guyana’s captain Sarwan believed that it was the
poor batting that led to his team’s defeat. Talking in the post-match ceremony, West Indies’ player said: “We knew that 148 was not enough. Initially, I felt we were 20-30 runs short but when they won with five overs to spare, I realized that even 170 wouldn't
have been enough.”
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