Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) off-spinner Ryan Austin snatched a seven-wicket haul as he and spin partner Kavesh Kantasingh orchestrated a lower-order collapse to dismiss the England Lions for 373 on the stroke of lunch on the second day of their WICB regional four-day match yesterday.
But by the close the visitors had fought their way back into the ascendancy, holding the hosts to 176 for five and will return to the 3Ws Oval today with ambitions of restricting CCC to below the 224 needed to avoid the possibility of being asked to follow on.
Austin, playing in his 52nd first-class match, picked up the attack from the start after rain delayed yesterday’s resumption by 22 minutes, and shared all the wickets with left-arm orthodox Kantasingh as the last six of the Lions’ batsmen fell for 65 runs in 19.1 overs.
It was the 29-year-old Austin’s 11th five-wicket haul and when CCC captain Omar Phillips took the catch to dismiss last man Maurice Chambers he had attained 200 wickets in first-class cricket.
Resuming on a healthy 260 for four, the Lions’ batsmen Jimmy Adams and Jonathan Bairstow showed much more urgency as they sought to build on the strong overnight position.
Adams who occupied the entire first day for 115 not out and Bairstow (34 not out) continued with little bother as Austin and pacer Carlos Brathwaite struggled to find a containing length on the slow pitch.
It was only on the introduction of Trinidadian Kantasingh that the hosts were able to make the first incision into the visitors’ batting when Adams missed a faster delivery, to be adjudged lbw for 142. The innings that lasted more than six hours included 13 fours and a six from 295 balls while the stand with Bairstow was worth 134.
Bairstow, in his first match of the tournament went on to reach 85 before becoming Austin’s third victim for the day. He batted for 200 minutes in which he faced 129 deliveries and stroked seven fours.
CCC found runs hard to come by at the start of their reply as Lions new ball bowlers Chris Woakes and James Harris, enjoying the prevailing overcast conditions, kept openers Omar Phillips and Romel Currency scoreless for the first three overs.
Once again spin provided the first breakthrough when left arm spinner Danny Briggs bowled Currency “through the gate” with his first delivery.
Leg-spinner Adil Rashid ended Phillips’ promising knock at 36, bowled playing back, and Briggs did similarly to Kjorn Ottley as the “students” slipped to 70-3 by tea.
In-form Kyle Hope was once again the best CCC batsman, exhibiting clever footwork against the spinners off whom he hefted four sixes in racing to 54 off 86 balls in 77 minutes.
He shared in the best stand of the innings, 57 for the fourth wicket with Raymon Reifer who remained unbeaten on 45 at the close.
