Bowlers Holder and Jordan put Barbados on brink of victory
Off-spinner Chaim Holder took 4-63 and fast bowler Akeem Jordan added 3-35 to put Barbados Pride in a with a good chance of victory over Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in their West Indies Championship match at Queen’s Park on Friday. The bowling effort saw the home team dismissed for 185 in their second innings. Set 118 to win, Pride reached 52-2 at the close of the third day of the fourth round contest. They will resume Saturday morning needing another 66 runs for victory.
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Resuming the morning on 31-2, Red Force flourished as captain Darren Bravo (36) extended his third wicket stand with Bryan Charles (18) to 49. Jordan broke the stand when he had Charles, on five at the start, caught at the wicket by captain Shane Dowrich and the dismissal sparked a slide which saw three wickets tumble for 27 runs. Bravo, on 20 overnight, faced 79 balls and counted six fours before he was fourth out, caught low down at first slip by Jordan off Holder.
Red Force were then propped up by two key stands, Jyd Goolie (35) putting on 46 for the sixth wicket with keeper Joshua Da Silva (21) and 34 for the seventh with Tion Webster (22). It was an excellent match for Holder with the ball as he ended with nine wickets – following up his career-best 5-71 in the first innings.
Faced with target, Pride lost two wickets but first innings top-scorer, opener Zachary McCaskie was leading the chase and will restart on 29 not out, after making 92 in the first innings.
Imlach makes impact for Guyana, then Blackwood and Gilzene lead Jamaica resistance
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Tevin Imlach scored out his maiden first-class hundred for Guyana Harpy Eagles as they set Jamaica Scorpions a massive fourth innings target at the Guyana National Stadium. The right-handed wicket-keeper/batter face 217 balls in just short of 5-¾ hours and hit 14 fours. Resuming the third day on 50, Imach extended his fifth wicket stand with opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul to 175 before the partnership ended. The left-handed Chanderpaul was on 60 at the start and made 89 off 249 balls in five hours with 12 boundaries.
Fast bowler Marquino Mindley added another two wickets to end with career-best figures of 6-54 in his 47th first-class match
Jamaica Scorpions were in trouble early in their second innings when they lost Leroy Lugg for 10 in the first over, caught at the wicket edging a defensive stroke off pacer Ronsford Beaton. However, Tevin Gilzene (81 not out) counter-attacked with 18 fours off 134 balls in 2-¾ hours, in a 166-run second wicket stand with Blackwood (66 not out) who has faced 124 balls in 2-¾ hours and hit seven fours.
They will resume the fourth day on Saturday with 282 more for victory with nine wickets in hand.
Hurricanes and Volcanoes evenly poised with all results possible
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Day 4 of the clash between the Leeward Islands Hurricanes and the Windward Islands Volcanoes is so much in the balance that all results are possible on the final day.
Kavem Hodge struck his first century of the season as he led the way with the bat for the Volcanoes, after skipper Alick Athanaze struck his second hundred of the season. The pair posted a whopping 246-run partnership in the Volcanoes chase of 382 made by Hurricanes. But their team fell 29 runs short to end their first innings on 353 all out, after Shermon Lewis had to retire out. Jeremiah Louis was the pick of the Hurricanes bowlers, finishing with figures of 21-5-46-4, followed by Rahkeem Cornwall with 29-4-109-4.
The Hurricanes are currently in a spot of bother in their second innings with the score on 99-5 and a lead of 128 runs heading into the last day. Montcin Hodge is on 45 not out as Karima Gore was trapped LBW by Larry Edwards for six on the last ball of the day. Preston McSween is leading the Volcanoes bowling attack as he closed the day on 6-0-26-2.
“It feels really good, the guys have been pulling me along for the beginning part of the season, it’s a relief and to just push forward for the remainder of game to come. It was pretty easy batting with Alick, as the bowlers are more focused on him as he’s the stroke-maker. It was important for us to get a start and the fight the guys put up despite falling short of the first innings total. We are ahead going into the last day because of their quick wickets, so it’ll just be for us to go after whatever they put on the board.” Hodge said at the close of play.
Play continues in all three matches from 10am (9am Jamaica time) on Saturday.
Fans can stream all West Indies Championship matches live on the Windies Cricket YouTube channel and access live ball-by-ball scoring at http://windiescricket.com/ match center. Following the Championship, the new Headley Weekes Series will feature three teams and matches, drawing from top performers in the 2023 West Indies Championship and players outside the starting West Indies Test XI. The Series will run from April 18 to May 6 at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.
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