WI Championship Round Four, Day Two…

WEST Indies Under-19 pacer Isai Thorne struck twice in his opening spell and had Barbados Pride on the back foot after the spin bowling pair of Veerasammy Permaul and new West Indies Test recruit Kevin Sinclair led strong lower-order batting for defending champions Guyana Harpy Eagles at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.

Permaul was unbeaten on a career-best 90, and Sinclair gave further proof of his batting ability with 72 before the Harpy Eagles were bowled out for 436 in their first innings close to an hour after the scheduled tea break.

Thorne then removed opener Zachary McCaskie for eight, and newcomer Sian Brathwaite for a two-ball duck before Pride and West Indies Test captain Kraigg Brathwaite was run out for 14 in the final half-hour, and his side ended a forgettable day 59 for three.

Permaul shared 103 for the seventh wicket with Sinclair, and he further frustrated the Pride when he added another 92 for the eighth wicket with West Indies left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie after the Harpy Eagles started the day on 231 for five.

Elsewhere, Tion Webster defied a destructive spell from off-spinner Kenneth Dember and hit his second first-class hundred to anchor hosts Trinidad & Tobago Red Force to a 103-run, first innings lead against leaders Windward Islands Volcanoes.

Similarly, discarded West Indies left-handed opener Kieran Powell overcame a damaging spell from Barbadian off-spinner Romario Greaves and cracked his 10th first-class hundred, but second-placed Leeward Islands Hurricanes conceded a 14-run, first innings lead to the Combined Campuses & Colleges Marooners on the second day of the fourth round of matches.

Dember ended with five for 63 from 22 overs, but Webster resisted with an undefeated 107, and Red Force were bowled out for 294, replying to the Volcanoes first innings total of 191, in the feature match at the Queen’s Park Oval in the T&T capital of Port of Spain.

The wickets in successive overs of opener Johann Jeremiah for 19 and West Indies left-handed batsman Alick Athanaze for a five-ball duck to left-arm spinner Khary Pierre and West Indies pacer Jayden Seales respectively, left Volcanoes reeling on 68 for two in their second innings at the close, still 35 adrift.

Earlier, Webster struck 13 fours and two sixes from 139 balls in almost four hours at the crease and led a recovery operation for the home team after three wickets – two to Under-19 World Cup-winning all-rounder Shamar Springer – fell in the first hour, and they were reeling on 136 for four.

Red Force started the day on 89 for one, and discarded Test pacer Shermon Lewis got Jyd Goolie for two in the third over of the day before Springer added the scalps of opener Vikash Mohan for 52, and Red Force captain and West Indies Test wicketkeeper-batsman Joshua Da Silva for four.

Webster came to the crease and shared 70 for the fifth wicket with Jason Mohammed either side of taking Red Force to 181 for four at lunch before Dember got stuck into his work after the interval to restrict the lead of the hosts.

After Dember removed the long-standing Mohammed for 56, no other Red Force batsman – other than Webster – reached 10, and the home team lost their last six wickets for 88 and were bowled out about half-hour after the scheduled tea break.

Springer ended with three for 76 from 23 overs.

Powell, playing in only his second match this season, led the way with 114, but Greaves ran through the Hurricanes batting to end with five for 63 from 19.2 overs, and the visitors were bowled out for 259, replying to the Marooners’ first innings total of 273, at Frank Worrell Field on the St Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies in Trinidad.

Two wickets in the final hour – one apiece to Jeremiah Louis and fellow pacer Colin Archibald – kept the Hurricanes in the match, and Marooners limped to 76 for three when stumps were drawn for an overall lead of 90.

Powell, aged 34, had slammed 11 fours and three sixes from 152 balls in a little over 5-1/2 hours at the wicket and propped up the Hurricanes batting after they wobbled to 59 for three inside the first hour of the day.

Hurricanes resumed from their overnight total of 20 for one and left-arm pacer Jediah Blades removed Kacey Carty for six with the third ball of the day, before all-rounder Roshon Primus added the scalp of new West Indies Test recruit Justin Greaves for 29.

But Powell shared a series of tidy partnerships down the order, including a 54-run stand for the sixth wicket with Louis, before he was the last batsman dismissed about 20 minutes after the scheduled tea break.

Louis scored 31, Hurricanes captain Rahkeem Cornwall got 22, and Jahmar Hamilton added 21; Blades and teenaged leg-spinner Zishan Motara ended with two wickets each for the hosts.

In the other match, West Indies white-ball batsman Brandon King led solid batting from hosts Jamaica Scorpions, and they finished the day with a two-run, first innings lead against the Cricket West Indies Academy at Sabina Park.

King, playing his first Championship match since May 2022 and the newly installed Scorpions captain, led the way with 77, Leroy Lugg supported with 64, and Peat Salmon was not out on 60, and the hosts were 326 for seven, replying to the CWI Academy first innings total of 324, at the close.

Left-arm spinner Joshua Bishop was the most successful Academy bowler with three for 85 from 27 overs, and fellow Barbadian Kadeem Alleyne bagged two wickets with his medium-fast bowling after the Scorpions continued from their overnight total of 20 without loss.