CMC –A brilliant five-wicket haul from seamer Ronaldo Alimohamed and an unbeaten half-century from Matthew Nandu spearheaded the Guyana Harpy Eagles’ fightback on day two of their West Indies Championship clash against the Leeward Islands Hurricanes at Warner Park, St. Kitts, here on Thursday.
When stumps were drawn, the Harpy Eagles trailed the Leeward Islands Hurricanes by 5 runs with 9 wickets remaining.
At Warner Park: Resuming the day at 143-4, trailing by 50 runs, the Hurricanes were propelled by a 138-run fifth wicket partnership between Keacy Carty 92 and Jahmar Hamilton 80, as the Leewards posted a formidable 335 in 79.3 overs, replying to 193 made by the Harpy Eagles.
Carty fell agonizingly short of a century, dismissed for 92 off 182 balls after stroking 12 fours, while Hamilton’s aggressive 80 off 124 deliveries kept the scoreboard ticking.
However, once Hamilton was removed in the 72nd over, the Hurricanes collapsed, losing their last four wickets for just 40 runs. Alimohamed was the standout bowler, claiming 5-91 in 19.3 overs, with Nial Smith providing good strong support with 3-62 in 15 overs.
Facing a deficit of 132 runs, the Harpy Eagles showed resilience in their second time at the crease, reaching 137-1 in 42 overs by stumps, to take a five-run lead.
Matthew Nandu anchored the innings with an unbeaten 53 off 127 balls, while Raymond Perez contributed a solid 49. Kevlon Anderson remained not out on 31 off 55, setting up an intriguing day three.
Over at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, the Windward Islands Volcanoes have taken firm control of their match against Barbados Pride, finishing day two at 203-4 in their second innings, for a formidable lead of 191 runs. Test batsman Kavem Hodge has been the backbone of the Volcanoes’ innings, remaining unbeaten on a patient 77, with Shadrack Descarte not out on 20, providing solid support as the pair looks to extend their team’s advantage on Friday.
Earlier in the day, the Volcanoes’ bowlers laid the foundation for their dominance, with pacer Keon Gaston delivering a career-best 6-52 in his first match of the season. His fiery spell dismantled the Barbados Pride, who were bowled out for 198, securing a slender 12-run first-innings lead.
Resuming at 94-5, Barbados suffered an early blow when Gaston removed the dangerous overnight batsman Kyle Mayers for 40. Matthew Forde 43 and Dominic Drakes 18 offered brief resistance with a 47-run stand, but Gaston and Gilon Tyson 3-49 ensured no major revival by wrapping up the tail.
Despite losing openers Jeremy Solozano for a duck and Kimani Melius for 14, the Volcanoes recovered emphatically in their second turn at bat, thanks to a blistering 123-run partnership between Hodge and captain Alick Athanaze.
Athanaze was in devastating touch, smashing 14 fours and a six in a rapid 78 off 71 balls before Drakes struck to remove him. Sunil Ambris, fresh from a first-innings century, fell soon after for eight, giving Barbados a glimmer of hope at 152-4.
But Hodge and Descarte steadied the ship, adding an unbroken 51-run stand to put the Volcanoes in a formidable position with two days still to play.
At the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground, Half centuries from captain Teddy Bishop and Mbeki Joseph have given the West Indies Academy a slight advantage over the Combined Campuses and Colleges halfway through their contest in St. Augustine.
The Academy side entered Thursday’s second day 37-1, trailing the CCC by 201 runs on first innings and went on to post 316 all out in 79.2 overs on the back of some excellent batting from Bishop and Joseph.
Joseph started proceedings with 65 off 116 balls, including 10 fours at the top of the order before his skipper top scored with 99 off 140 balls including 13 fours.
Bishop showed true maturity at the crease and looked certain to get to three figures, however, Chemar Holder had him caught, to the dismay of the Academy right-hander and a disappointed dressing room who had come out to the ropes to celebrate.
Joshua Bishop, 26, Rivaldo Clarke, 25 and Jordan Johnson, 23, all got starts but failed to kick on to ensure a bigger lead for the Academy side.
Holder was the pick of the bowlers for CCC with 4-81 from 18.2 overs, while Romario Greaves and Jaden Edmund each took two wickets.
