Spinners give Spartan edge as 18 wickets fall

WICKETS TUMBLED all day in the top-of-the-table seventh-series LIME Division One cricket clash between TeleBarbados Carlton and SuperCentre Spartan, but the Parkites will be the happier team.A day in which 18 wickets fell ended with Carlton in deep strife at 56 for eight after dismissing the home team for 188.Spartan’s left-arm spin pair of Andre Marshall and Sulieman Benn spun their side back into the game to have Carlton desperately in need of 133 more runs with two wickets in hand for first innings lead.After Dale Richards inside edged a Andre Gill delivery into his stumps in the first over, Marshall cleverly spun his team into the ascendency. He captured four of the wickets to fall for 19 runs from 11 overs as the Carlton batsmen found difficulty negotiating his subtle variation of flight and turn. Richard Greaves and Alex Bridgeman were leg before wicket, while big-hitting Kirk Gibson was taken at slip and Krisnan Hurdle was caught and bowled to give Marshall the excellent figures of four for 19 from 11 overs. The “Big Benn” chimed in with the scalps of all-rounders Marlon Graham and Khalid Springer.Opener Shirley Clarke, badly dropped just before the close, was on 20 not out.Earlier, Spartan’s top order was ripped apart by Ryan “Vaas” Clarke’s each way left-arm medium-pace swing.Clarke took the first three wickets of Rashidi Boucher and Reydon Toppin with outswingers and Wayne Blackman leg before wicket with an inswinger as Spartan slumped to 23 for four after winning the toss and batting.It took a responsible half-century by Maradon Bend, an attacking 24 by Chioke Payne and a stroke-filled 49 from Benn to rally Spartan to a fighting total.Bend was ninth out after patiently compiling 55 with seven boundaries, while Benn’s stroke-filled unbeaten 49 was laced with seven fours and two massive sixes.