ST JOHN’S – Barbados Pride will chase 236 for victory against Guyana Jaguars in their opening match of the West Indies Super50 Cup in Antigua.
Pride defied a run-a-ball 80 from Shimron Hetmyer and a similarly enterprising, unbeaten 58 from Romario Shepherd to dismiss the Jaguars for 235 in 41.4 overs.
Off-spinner Ashley Nurse led the Pride bowling with three for 44 from 10 overs and captain Jason Holder supported with three for 53 from 9.4 overs.
The Pride bowlers were inconsistent in the early stages and opener Chandrapaul Hemraj gave the Jaguars brisk start with 35 from 26 balls.
Nurse brought back a measure of control with the scalps of Assad Fudadin, Leon Johnson and Christopher Barnwell, and Jason Holder removed Hemraj and Akshaya Persaud, to leave the Jaguars stumbling on 88 for five in the 16th over.
The Pride were, however, put on the backfoot, when Hetmyer exploded with a volley of strokes to race to his half-century from 27 balls and shared 55 for the sixth wicket with Anthony Bramble.
Three wickets – including Hetmyer – in the space of 36 balls helped the Pride regain control and the Jaguars were wobbling again on 177 for eight in the 31st over.
The Pride came under the pump from Shepherd and he formed a couple of tidy partnerships with the tailenders to inch the Jaguars across the 200-run mark. He reached 50 from 48 balls with a single through square leg off Chemar Holder.
Pride excluded Joshua Bishop, Dominic Drakes, Jonathan Drakes and Nicholas Kirton for this match from their tournament squad of 15, giving pacer Akeem Jordan his debut for the Barbadian franchise, after spending two seasons with the Combined Campuses & Colleges Marooners.
Summarised scores:
GUYANA JAGUARS 235 off 41 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 80, Romario Shepherd 58 not out, Chandrapaul Hemraj 35, Anthony Bramble 14; Ashley Nurse 3-44, Jason Holder 3-53, Chemar Holder 2-49) vs BARBADOS PRIDE. (AR)
