Guyana, paced by four blistering innings from Clayton Lambert, Andrew Gonsalves, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and captain Carl Hooper and then some steady bowling and brilliant fielding, won the Red Stripe Bowl and the winner's prize of US$10,000 before a bumper Heroes Day crowd at Kaiser yesterday.
After three consecutive unsuccessful attempts to win the regional limited-over tournament, Guyana, after winning the toss and electing to bat on a placid pitch, posted 226 for seven off their allotted 50 overs and then routed the Leeward Islands for 174 in 45.5 overs.
In winning the match by 52 runs with 4.5 overs to spare, Guyana, who lost to the Leeward Islands by 30 runs in last year's final, enjoyed sweet revenge and in the process ticked off their sixth victory in the 22-year history of the tournament to join both the conquered and Trinidad and Tobago at the top of the winners list.
On a lovely day Guyana got off to a rollicking start as Lambert, Gonsalves, Chanderpaul and Hooper thrilled the holiday gathering with a mixture of powerful and exquisite strokes and but for two runouts at the top of the innings may well have plundered the Leeward Islands attack.
In a whirlwind start to the Guyana innings, the left-handed Lambert, who smashed 65 off 76 deliveries with one six and eight fours, and Gonsalves, who stroked six boundaries while scoring 41 off 70 deliveries, posted 108 for the first wicket before Lambert was runout in the 23rd over and Gonsalves in the 26th at 128 for two.
They were followed by top batsmen Chanderpaul and Hooper, and with both batsmen stroking the ball confidently, with Chanderpaul cutting and pulling with ease and Hooper driving medium pacer Wilden Cornwall straight for six, Guyana appeared heading for a total which would put the match beyond the reach of the Leeward Islands.
With things getting out of control, however, ace pacer Curtley Ambrose returned for a spell, removed Chanderpaul first ball - caught on the cover boundary by Renako Morton for 29 at 169 for three in the 35th over, and almost made it two in two when, in his second over, Hooper, on 22 at 174 for three, drove off the frontfoot and was dropped by Dave Joseph at midwicket.
Guyana did not prosper from that bit of good fortune as they lost four wickets for 11 runs in four overs - including Keith Semple, who tapped a full toss back to offspinner Lake and left the scene for six at 181 for four, and Hooper, who played forward to medium pacer Hamish Anthony and was bowled and caught for 25 at 181 for five in the 40th over.
Set a target of 227 to win the match, the Leeward Islands, who got into the final ahead of Trinidad and Tobago following a protest by manager Carlisle Powell and an emergency meeting on Sunday, were in early trouble when they lost captain Stuart Williams - brilliantly caught by Lennox Cush at square leg off pacer Reon King for three at 11 for one in the third over.
Cornwall, however, played well for 45, and so did Morton for 48 as the defending champions recovered to reach 88 for one before Cornwall, giving himself room to cut, was bowled by Hooper in the 22nd over.
Morton followed 22 runs later at 110 for three when he was caught by Mahendra Nagamootoo off offspinner Cush on the midwicket boundary in the 32nd over, and when, immediately after the rain, Sylvester Joseph was stumped by Sheik Mohammed off Hooper for eight at 133 for four in the 38th over, when the usually dependable left-handed Keith Arthurton lost his cool, swung at right-arm legspinner Nagamootoo and was bowled offstump for 23 at 135 for five in the 39th over, and when the left-handed Ridley Jacobs swung at left-arm spinner Neil McGarrell, lobbed a simple catch to Nagamootoo at backward and limped away for two at 143 for six in the 41st over, it was all over bar the shouting.