Spinner Verasammy Permaul grabbed a four-wicket haul as the Guyana Harpy Eagles enforced a follow-on after the Barbados Pride fell 244 runs short of their first innings total in the West Indies Championship match at Queen’s Park Oval.

At the close of play, Barbados Tridents were 44 without loss with openers Kraigg Brathwaite (17) and Sheyne Moseley (25) at the crease.  Earlier, in the Pride’s first innings it was Permaul who got the breakthrough after removing Brathwaite for 17, before adding the dangerous Shai Hope and Roston Chase to his tally.

Hope had, however, staged a furious fightback after coming to the crease with his team in trouble at 49 for 3.  Hope went on to make 119 from 2oo deliveries, before being caught by Leon Johnson, which ended the Pride’s resistance at 266 all-out.  Prior to that Shane Dowrich added an enterprising 44 from 60 and shared in 64 runs partnership with Hope but became Permaul’s third wicket after also being caught by Johnson.

In Guyana’s first innings Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Gudakesh Motie each made a century as the team declared at 490 for 7.

The West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) extends sympathies to West Indies spinner Veerasammy Permaul and his family.

Waynmattie ‘Dataley’ Permaul, Veerasammy’s mother, had been missing for seven days when her son made the report of such to the Guyanese authorities on Thursday, April 28. Upon searching her Berbice home, her body was found lifeless in a shallow grave. She was 52 years old.  

WIPA President and CEO, Wavell Hinds expressed, “The WIPA family extends condolences to Veerasammy Permaul and his family during this stressful time. We regret the untimely passing of his mother and hope he will find the strength and courage to continue his lifelong journey. May her soul rest in peace and light perpetually shine upon her.” 

An unbroken ninth-wicket partnership of 107 between Dhananjaya de Silva and Lasith Embuldeniya put Sri Lanka in control on the penultimate day of the second Test against the West Indies at Galle on Thursday.

At stumps, Sri Lanka are 328-8, a lead of 279 with two wickets still remaining. De Silva is 153 not out while Embuldeniya is on 25. Together they took Sri Lanka from 221-8 after the West Indies had threatened to restrict the home side to a lead below 200 runs, having trailed by 49 on first innings.

Resuming on 46-2, still three runs behind on first innings, Sri Lanka lost their third wicket at 73 when Veerasammy Permaul had Charith Asalanka caught at short leg for 19. Pathum Nissanka, 21, overnight, and de Silva stitched together a stand of 78 that was broken when the former got out lbw to Roston Chase for 66.

It was then 151-4.

At 157, Chase had Dinesh Chandimal out caught and bowled for two and the Sri Lankan lead was now only 108 with five wickets left.

However, de Silva forged a partnership of 51 with Ramesh Mendis, who made 25. Permaul then dismissed Suranga Lakmal for seven and the injured Angelo Matthews for 1 as Sri Lanka slipped to 221-8, a lead of 172.

It was the last success the West Indies would enjoy.

Permaul, who took 5-35 in the first innings, has so far taken 3-100 while Chase has figures of 2-82.

Scores in the match: Sri Lanka 204 and 328-8; West Indies 253.

A five-wicket haul from spinner Veerasammy Permaul hobbled Sri Lanka to give the West Indies a slender advantage at the close of a rain-affected second day, in Galle, on Tuesday.

Resuming the score with a comfortable overnight total of 113 for 1, the Sri Lankans were 204 all-out just before lunch.  The decision to use left-arm spinners Permaul and Jomel Warrican proved to be a masterstroke that paid rich dividends for the visitors.

Permaul, ended with overall figures of 5 for 35, while Warrican took 4 for 50.  With the other wicket going to Roston Chase on the first day, it was only the fourth time the typically pace-dependent Windies saw their spinners claim 10 wickets in an innings.

In response, the West Indies came up with an all-around solid batting display and put 69 for 1 on the board, leaving the visitor trailing by 135 runs. Jermaine Blackwood, who put 44 on the board from 91 balls was the lone casualty before the rains came.  Blackwood was dismissed lbw after misjudging a Praveen Jayawickrama arm ball. Kraig Brathwaite was unbeaten on 22 off 77 deliveries, and alongside him was Nkrumah Bonner on 1 at the close of play.

West Indies left-arm spinner, Veerasammy Permaul, was delighted after taking a maiden five-wicket haul in his 7^th match in Test cricket.

Permaul took 5-35 from his 13 overs to help restrict Sri Lanka to 204 all out on day two of the second Test in Galle.

The Guyanese bowler, who is playing in his first Test match since 2015, reacted joyously to his achievement.

“First of all, I’d like to thank God for giving me strength. I’m very overwhelmed. Over the years I’ve been working really hard to get back into the team and now it is paying off,” he said.

Permaul said trying to spin the ball as much as possible served him well in the Sri Lankan conditions.

“I tried to adjust to the conditions and see what pace is good for the wicket. I also tried to spin the ball as much as possible and I think that is what brought me success,” he said.

He also referred to the bowling partnership between himself and fellow left-arm spinner, Barbadian Jomel Warrican, who took 4-50 from his 18.3 overs.

“I think Warrican bowled really well. He was the one that was controlling the scoring rate. He was bowling tight at one end and I was attacking at the other end and that is the key to a good bowling partnership,” he said.

When asked how the Windies bowling performance can carry over into future encounters, Permaul said consistency is key.

“Moving forward, it’s very important that we stay consistent as a bowling unit. Be patient and don’t look for wickets. Try to create opportunities rather than experimenting,” he said.

The West Indies ended day two on 69-1 in their first innings reply to Sri Lanka’s 204 all out with captain, Kraigg Brathwaite, at the crease on 22 and Nkrumah Bonner on one.

Jermaine Blackwood is the only batsman out so far for 44.

Jamaica Tallawahs inflicted the third successive defeat on St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in this year’s Hero Caribbean Premier League with a 22-run victory at Warner Park on Wednesday.

The Patriots won the toss and opted to bowl, yet the Tallawahs were able to post a sizeable score of 169-8, largely thanks to some power hitting from captain Rovman Powell and Andre Russell. 

The Patriots were unable to accelerate and chase the total as Tallawah bowlers Imad Wasim, Veerasammy Permaul and Migael Pretorius helped produce a disciplined bowling performance which earned the franchise their third win of this year’s Hero CPL.

Jamaica Tallawahs got off to a steady start, openers Kennar Lewis and youngster Kirk McKenzie batting through the first five overs before Lewis was caught out on the boundary. Shamarh Brooks top scored with 43 runs from 39 balls to consolidate before Powell and Russell hit fast runs to take the score to a substantial total.

Patriot’s stand out bowlers were spinners Jon-Russ Jaggesar and veteran Fawad Ahmed, who ensured their side took wickets throughout the innings while maintaining low economy rates of five and under.

St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, in contrast, had an indifferent start, losing batsman Evin Lewis in the second over, closely followed by captain Chris Gayle.

Devon Thomas and Joshua da Silva accumulated runs in search of building a foundation but wickets tumbled and only Dominic Drakes later on in the innings was able to strike at the required velocity to chase the target, hitting 22 runs from just 12 balls. Once Drakes was out and Fabian Allen dismissed in the 19th over, any hopes of a Patriots win evaporated and the Tallawahs were able to successfully defend their target.

 Jamaica Tallawahs jump into a playoff spot with this victory, and will be hoping to stay there for the duration of this year’s league stages.

Scores: Jamaica Tallawahs 169-8 (Brooks 43, Powell 37; Fawad 2-14, Jaggesar 2-20) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 147-8 (Thomas 35, da Silva 28; Pretorius 3-26, Permaul 2-31) by 22 runs

The Guyana Cricket Board has written to Cricket West Indies expressing what it says is its disappointment at public comments made by Chairman of Selectors Roger Harper relating to four Guyanese players, who were not awarded retainer contracts by the governing body.

The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has written to Cricket West Indies requesting a copy of the criteria used to award international retainer contracts and the report submitted by the selection panel on which the decision was made not to award international retainer contracts to Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul and Romario Shepherd as well as Veerasammy Permaul.

The missive to the CWI comes on the heels of the recent announcement by CWI of 18 players who were offered retainer contracts for the year July 1, 2021-June 30, 2022. Among those who were awarded were newcomers Kyle Mayers, Joshua Da Silva and Nkrumah Bonner, who had standout performances against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

However, there were no contracts for the four Guyanese players, a troubling development for the GCB.

 “The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) notes with great concern the information that Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul and Romario Shepherd were not awarded International Retainer Contracts by the Cricket West Indies (CWI),” the board said in a statement Friday.

“The GCB is also concerned with the non-award of an International Retainer Contract to Veerasammy Permaul.”

The GCB said it is not aware and was not informed of the criteria used for the award of international retainer contracts nor were any reasons given for the non-award contracts to the four players.

“The non-award of International Retainer Contracts to these players by CWI is a matter of extreme concern to the GCB and to the Guyanese public and the GCB intends to fully investigate this matter,” the GCB said.

Notwithstanding the Guyana Jaguars’ crushing nine-wicket victory over the Windward Islands Volcanoes in the final preliminary round match on Monday, Captain Leon Johnson says he has no intention of underestimating their opponents when the two teams meet again in the second semi-final tomorrow.