ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – A devastating spell of fast bowling from Chemar Holder put current leaders Barbados Pride in charge against Windward Islands Volcanoes in the West Indies Championship on Friday.
The former West Indies Under-19 World Cup-winning fast bowler bagged 5-73 from 16 overs to undermine the Volcanoes batting and earn the Pride a first innings lead of 159 on the second day of sixth round matches in the Championship.
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At the same time, Vishaul Singh posted a personal milestone and was eyeing his ninth first-class hundred, and fellow left-hander Chandrapaul Hemraj batted solidly to put five-time defending champions Guyana Jaguars in the lead against Jamaica Scorpions.
And, left-hander Amir Jangoo batted resolutely to prop up the Leeward Islands Hurricanes batting against his hometown franchise Trinidad & Tobago Red Force.
Scorpions (216) vs Jaguars 287-6
at the Trelawny Multiplex in Florence Hall, Jamaica
Singh was not out on 93 and passed 3,000 career runs in the Championship to lay the groundwork for a strong Jaguars reply. He now has 3,091 career runs.
But Hemraj made 82 and played a pivotal role in putting the Jags in such a comfortable position with successive half-century stands in the company of fellow left-handers Leon Johnson and Singh.
Johnson, the Jaguars captain, made 35 and shared 60 for the second wicket with Hemraj, who followed up with a 98-run stand with Singh.
Jaguars were 179 for four, after Hemraj and Christopher Barnwell fell to spinner Patrick Harty Jr in the space of three deliveries.
But Singh anchored a string of tidy partnerships with fellow left-hander Raymon Reifer, wicketkeeper/batsman Anthony Bramble and Kevin Sinclair that extended the Jaguars’ innings.
Left-arm chinaman spinner Dennis Bulli has been the most successful Scorpions bowler with 3-84 from 20 overs and Harty has 2-67 from the same number of overs.
First innings batting bonus points: Scorpions 0 (completed), Jaguars 2 (in progress)
First innings bowling bonus points: Scorpions 2 (in progress), Jaguars 3 (maximum achieved)
Pace bowling bonus points (in progress): Scorpions 0.2, Jaguars 0.2
Pride (417) & 6-0 vs Volcanoes (258)
at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados
In the feature match of the round, Holder again bowled with pace and hostility to upset the flow of the Volcanoes innings and transform the complexion of the match.
He carried his tally of scalps for the season to 29, which kept him second on the list of wicket-takers – eight behind Guyana Jaguars left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul – and makes him the most successful pacer in the Championship to date.
Volcanoes captain Kavem Hodge had the top score of 53 for his side, Andre Fletcher supported with 52, Preston McSween hit a cavalier 47 batting at 10, Devon Smith made 21 and fellow opener Desron Maloney got 21 before he retired hurt after a blow to the helmet from Holder, which brought Alick Athanaze into the game as a concussion replacement.
Volcanoes started comfortably before the injury to Maloney prompted a fractionally earlier than scheduled lunch with the visitors on 33 without loss and Pride were kept waiting for the breakthrough after the interval before Holder had Smith caught behind.
The visitors were 66 for one before Fletcher featured in two significant stands that put the Pride on their heels and carried Volcanoes past the 150 mark. He added 50 with Hodge for the second wicket and 49 with Cato for the third wicket before Holder had him caught at first slip.
Volcanoes were 165 for three and that became 192 for eight in a jiffy with Holder adding the scalps of Cato, Athanaze and Keron Cottoy in a destructive post-tea spell.
McSween came to the crease and frustrated the Pride in a ninth wicket stand of 65 with Ray Jordan and earned the visitors two batting points before pacer Keon Harding brought the fun to an end with two wickets in three balls.
Pride openers Kraigg Brathwaite, not out on five, and Shayne Moseley, not out on one, batted one over before stumps were drawn.
Earlier, Pride earned full batting bonus points for the first time in the Professional Cricket League era of the Championship before their first innings ended about 55 minutes before lunch.
Resuming from their overnight total of 357 for seven, Pride earned the bonus points thanks to a late flourish of 27 not out from Harding, after century-maker Kyle Mayers was dismissed for 140.
Pacers Josh Thomas and Ryan John ended with three wickets apiece for Volcanoes.
First innings batting bonus points: Pride 5 (maximum achieved), Volcanoes 2 (completed)
First innings bowling bonus points: Volcanoes 3 (maximum achieved), Pride 3 (maximum achieved)
Pace bowling bonus points (in progress): Volcanoes 1.4, Pride 2
Hurricanes (287) vs Red Force 147-5
at Warner Park in Basseterre, St. Kitts
Jangoo, drawing his intimate knowledge of the opposition, was not out on 72 and holding the Hurricanes innings together, after another top-order batting failure.
Hurricanes stumbled to 30 for three and had lost half of their batting before they reached 100 before Jangoo dominated a stand of 48 – unbroken – for the sixth wicket with Jaison Peters to halt the slide.
Earlier, rookie Terrance Hinds was not out on 89 – 11 short of his second hundred of the season – to lead a rearguard action for Red Force, extending the visitors’ first innings just past lunch.
Khary Pierre made 35 and was a steady ally for Hinds. They added 106 for the eighth wicket to frustrate the Hurricanes, after Red Force resumed from their overnight total of 161 for seven.
Pierre fell to pacer Nino Henry, but Hinds anchored an annoying stand of 27 with Uthman Muhammad before West Indies off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall and fellow tweaker Terance Warde shared the last two scalps to bring the innings to a close in the space of nine balls.
First innings batting bonus points: Red Force 2 (completed), Hurricanes 0 (in progress)
First innings bowling bonus points: Hurricanes 3 (maximum achieved), Red Force 1 (in progress)
Pace bowling bonus points (in progress): Hurricanes 1.4, Red Force 0.6
POINTS STANDINGS
(Before the sixth round of matches)
1. Barbados Pride 84.2 points
2. Guyana Jaguars 60.8
3. Jamaica Scorpions 57.4
4. Windward Islands Volcanoes 50
5. Trinidad & Tobago Red Force 46.6
6. Leeward Islands Hurricanes 32.6
MATCH RESULTS
Round 1
January 9 to 12
Hurricanes lost to Jaguars by 10 wickets – Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua Scorecard
Red Force drew with Scorpions – Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad Scorecard
Volcanoes beat Pride by three wickets – Arnos Vale Cricket Ground, St. Vincent Scorecard
Round 2
January 16 to 19
Scorpions drew with Volcanoes – Sabina Park, Jamaica Scorecard
Pride beat Jaguars by 7 wickets – Kensington Oval, Barbados Scorecard
Red Force beat Hurricanes by an innings and 168 runs – Brian Lara Cricket Academy Scorecard
Round 3
January 23 to 26
Scorpions lost to Pride by 119 runs – Sabina Park Scorecard
Jaguars beat Red Force by 219 runs – Guyana National Stadium, Guyana Scorecard
Volcanoes lost to Hurricanes by – Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St. Lucia Scorecard
Round 4
February 6 to 9
Jaguars lost to Scorpions by seven runs – Guyana National Stadium Scorecard
Volcanoes vs Red Force – Windsor Park, Dominica Scorecard
February 7 to 10
Hurricanes lost to Pride by an innings and 81 runs – Warner Park, St. Kitts Scorecard
Round 5
February 13 to 16
Scorpions beat Hurricanes by five wickets – Trelawny Multipurpose Complex, Jamaica Scorecard
Pride beat Red Force by 299 runs – Kensington Oval Scorecard
Volcanoes drew with Jaguars – Grenada National Stadium, Grenada Scorecard
MATCH SCHEDULE
(All matches start at 10 am daily, except where indicated in brackets)
Round 6
February 27 to March 1
Scorpions vs Jaguars – Trelawny Multipurpose Complex, Jamaica
Pride vs Volcanoes – Kensington Oval
Hurricanes vs Red Force – Warner Park
Round 7
March 5 to 8
Red Force vs Pride – Brian Lara Cricket Academy
Volcanoes vs Scorpions – Grenada National Stadium
Jaguars vs Hurricanes – Guyana National Stadium (9:30 a.m. daily)
Round 8
March 12 to 15
Red Force vs Volcanoes – Brian Lara Cricket Academy (2 p.m. daily)
Hurricanes vs Scorpions – Vivian Richards Cricket Ground
Jaguars vs Pride – Guyana National Stadium (2 p.m. daily)
***BREAK***
Round 9
March 26 to 29
Jaguars vs Volcanoes – Guyana National Stadium (9:30 a.m. daily)
Scorpions vs Red Force – Sabina Park (2 p.m. daily)
Pride vs Hurricanes – Kensington Oval
Round 10
April 2 to 5
Pride vs Scorpions – Kensington Oval (2 p.m. daily)
Hurricanes vs Volcanoes – Warner Park
Red Force vs Jaguars – Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad
