BARBADOS PRIDE’S batsmen were ravaged by the Leeward Islands Hurricanes yesterday.
Pacer Jeremiah Louis caused the most destruction after the hosts were sent in on the opening day of the Digicel Regional Four-Day cricket match at Kensington Oval.
The bustling 21-year-old dye-blond fast-medium bowler claimed career-best bowling figures of six for 69 in 14.2 overs as the Pride were blown away for 113 – their lowest ever total against the Hurricanes – in 36.2 overs.
Face-saving stand
Big-hitting Ashley Nurse top-scored with an attacking 45 off 41 balls, studded with seven fours and a six. He shared a face-saving eighth-wicket stand of 59 with fellow all-rounder Justin Greaves, lifting Barbados from a perilous 34 for seven.
Greaves’ 20 was the next highest score. Aaron Jones, Jonathan Carter and Mario Rampersaud were dismissed for “ducks” while captain Kevin Stoute managed two; opener Anthony Alleyne fell for one and all-rounder Kenroy Williams eight.
In reply, there was calm as the Leewards Hurricanes easily overtook Barbados’ total, reaching 116 for four in 47 overs at stumps.
Devastating
Akeem Saunders led the way with four fours and a six in a knock of 41 off 106 balls before he fell just before the close, leaving Nkrumah Bonner not out on 20.
While Louis, who bowled unchanged before and after lunch, captured the last five wickets, it was 34-year-old veteran fast bowler Gavin Tonge, who rocked the Pride’s top order with a devastating eight-over new-ball spell, taking three wickets for five runs.
Another experienced seamer, Mervin Matthew, had started the Pride’s woes in the day’s third over, inducing an edge from Alleyne to wicketkeeper Devon Thomas.
Tonge, with 238 wickets in 83 first-class matches before this game, then removed rookie Jones, caught at mid-on, and Carter, who snicked an inswinger to Thomas, with successive deliveries to make it 15 for three.
It soon became 18 for four when Louis uprooted Stoute’s leg stump with a fast inswinging yorker. Tonge had the obdurate Moseley neatly taken low at first slip by Chesney Hughes, diving forward, for 13 in 73 minutes.
Louis won a lbw verdict against Williams, while Rampersaud edged the same bowler to Terrance Warde at fourth slip, leaving the Pride’s innings in tatters at 34 for seven.
Dropped
The hosts rallied to 55 for seven at lunch, helped by Nurse, who straight drove and lifted Louis over long-off for boundaries. He was dropped on nine by substitute fielder Elvin Berridge at mid-on in the same over.
On resumption, Nurse pulled Louis savagely through forward square for four but fell to a trap by opposing captain Thomas in the same over, clipping the ball straight to short mid-on, where Jason Campbell took a sharp catch.
Jomel Warrican brought up the Pride’s century by pulling Louis to the long-leg fence but the bowler got his revenge while wrapping up the innings an hour after lunch.
After Greaves, who had defied the Hurricanes for 100 minutes, sliced a catch to second slip, Louis extracted Warrican’s middle stump with a yorker.
Defending such a paltry total was never going to be easy, even though pacer Shakeem Clarke took a maiden first-class wicket when left-handed opener Hughes was caught by Stoute at mid-on.
Keacy Carty fell for 19, edging Stoute to Nurse at second slip at 31 for two but skipper Thomas joined Saunders and they fluently added 47 for the third wicket.
Thomas quickly moved to 25 with three fours but gifted his hand with a firm drive to be caught by Alleyne at mid-off in left-arm spinner Warrican’s second over.
With Bonner pulling Warrican for a six over mid-wicket, the Hurricanes easily overtook the Pride’s total, but they suffered a late setback when Saunders was snapped up at short leg by Moseley off Williams. (EZS)