KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, Apr 5, CMC – Compatriots Mervin Matthew and Liam Sebastien led a spirited Windward Islands fight-back, after a career-best spell from Ryan Austin bowled Combined Campuses & Colleges into a favourable position in the Regional Four-Day Championship yesterday.Matthew ended with two for 10 from eight overs and Sebastien finished with two for 24 from 14 overs, as CCC reached 66 for four in their second innings at the close on the second day of the sixth round match for an overall lead of 134.
The two Dominicans failed to devalue Austin’s impact however, as the lanky off-spinner extracted turn and bounce from the hard, true Arnos Vale Multiplex pitch to grab eight for 64 from 29 overs and send the home team crashing to 157 all out to give CCC a first innings lead of 68.
Austin, a former Barbados tweaker, now has 298 career wickets in the Regional tournament and is set to become the third bowler behind Mahendra Nagamootoo, and injured Windwards and West Indies off-spinner Shane Shillingford to capture 300.
After the typical early fireworks from opener Shacaya Thomas, Matthew and Sebastien bowled in tandem in between three stoppages for rain to retrieve the situation for the Windwards.
Sebastien, the Windwards captain, made the breakthrough, when he had Shacaya Thomas lbw for 19, and Matthew struck three overs later, when left-handed opener Paul Palmer was caught behind for seven playing defensively forward, leaving the visitors 32 for two.
The weather, as well as Kyle Corbin and Windwards Under-19 batsman Kavem Hodge combined to stem the flow for the home team, but they made hay in between gloom to leave the CCC wobble on 55 for four.
Matthew had Corbin trapped lbw for 10 and Hodge paid for his petulance, when he mistimed a pull and was caught at square leg by a flying Alston Bobb off Sebastien for 12.
Veteran left-hander Floyd Reifer, not out on four, came to the crease and with Chadwick Walton, not out on 12, carried CCC through until the umpires offered them light with two overs remaining for the day.
Earlier, Windwards started the day on 17 without loss and surrendered four wickets – three to Austin – in the first hour and they never fully recovered.
Romel Currency tried to hold the seams together with a resolute, unbeaten top score of 36 and opener Tyrone Theophile made 23 and Keddy Lesporis got 22, but no other Windwards batsman reached 20.
Theophile broke the floodgates open, when he was caught at fine leg from a top-edged sweep off Austin before newcomer Justin Greaves got Devon Smith caught at second slip for 10 from a delivery that bounced awkwardly.
Tottering at 35 for two, the Windwards were steadied by Lesporis and Sunil Ambris for just over half-hour. But Ambris was caught at leg-slip for 10 sweeping at Austin, who had Lesporis caught at slip from an ill-advised reverse sweep and Sebastien also caught at the same position for one from a sharply turning, awkwardly bouncing delivery.
Windwards were 77 for five and were 120 for six at lunch, after Lindon James was caught at backward point for 12 from a top-edged cut off left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican.
After the interval, Currency continued to apply himself, but none of the remaining batsman could match his example and wickets fell regularly, as Austin worked his way through the tail.