The Trinidad and Tobago Red Force secured a commanding innings and-56-run victory over the Barbados Pride in their fifth-round West Indies Championship match at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, yesterday.
It was pace like fire from both sides, but the Red Force speedsters ultimately prevailed, dismissing the Bajans for 121 in their second innings after the visitors had extended their first-innings lead to 177 earlier in the day.
Anderson Phillip stood out on the second day, taking a brilliant catch and two wickets, while Jayden Seales also claimed two scalps while rookie Joshua James added three wickets to engineer a batting collapse that saw the hosts losing six wickets in the final hour.
However, it was T&T’s leading wicket-taker Khary Pierre who delivered the final blow for the Red Force, the left-arm orthodox spinner trapping the reverse-sweeping Jomel Warrican lbw late in the day to wrap up the contest with two days to spare and record a rare victory for a T&T side at Kensington.
Day two began with the Red Force on 182 for five, with Amir Jangoo going on to score a crucial half-century, 56, to help push the lead into triple digits. He reached the milestone with a four off Kemar Roach, guided past gully.
The positive intent was evident from both overnight batters, with Yannic Cariah flicking the veteran Roach for two leg-side boundaries. However, Roach had the final say in the over, drawing an edge from Cariah to wicketkeeper Shai Hope for 30.
Jangoo continued to lead the batting effort, cutting pacer Jair McCallister for four through the covers to bring up the 200 for the visitors. Another boundary off Roach took him to his third half-century of the season, coming off 124 balls and including eight fours.
At the other end, new batter Pierre fended off a short ball from McCallister before driving him to the extra-cover boundary as the Red Force remained positive with the bat. However, after a drinks break, Jason Holder returned to the attack and made an immediate impact, trapping the rash Jangoo lbw for 56 with the score at 222 and the lead at 136.
Holder was struck down the ground by the incoming James but responded strongly, trapping the rookie lbw for ten to reignite the Pride’s hopes. McCallister joined Holder in unsettling the batters before the lunch break, targeting Pierre in particular. He struck the batter’s pads multiple times before inducing an edge that flew between the keeper and first slip, neither fielder making an attempt to take the catch. Pierre, however, survived to guide the Red Force to lunch at 247 for seven, with a lead of 161. However, after the break, Barbados wrapped up the T&T innings quickly, using the second new ball, Holder finishing with a five-wicket haul.
The Red Force, in turn, found early success with the new ball. Zachary McCaskie initially launched Phillip for six in the second over, but Seales responded by bowling skipper Kraigg Brathwaite for two.
The Pride soon slumped to 41 for four, with Phillip getting his revenge against McCaskie before Roston Chase and Hope temporarily halted T&T’s progress in the first hour of the final session. The pair added 59 runs for the fifth wicket, but the Red Force seized full control right after the afternoon drinks break. A mix-up between the batters led to Chase being run out for 41, initiating the final slide.
Hope fell to Seales for 20 in the next over, and the last five wickets tumbled for just 21 runs, sealing the Red Force’s fourth and most impressive win of the campaign.
Kensington was no fortress for the Pride yesterday. A Red Force smashed it down.
Summarised scores:
AT SIR VIVIAN RICHARDS STADIUM:
Leeward Islands Hurricanes 425, 98.5 overs (Jewel Andrew 122, Justin Greaves 104, Karima Gore 65; Chemar Holder 5/107) & 94-1, 19 overs (Kadeem Henry 41, Mikyle Louis 34 n.o., Keacy Carty 16 n.o.)
vs Combined Campuses and Colleges 170-9 dec., 44 overs (Romario Greaves 39, Johann Jeremiah 31; Alzarri Joseph 6/35)
AT PROVIDENCE:
Windward Islands Volcanoes 213, 61.5 overs (Jeremy Solozano 83, Alick Athanaze 39, Sunil Ambris 33; Veerasammy Permaul 4/35)
vs Guyana Harpy Eagles 159-3, 42 overs (Kemol Savory 46 n.o., Tevin Imlach 40 n.o., Raymond Perez 33)
AT COOLIDGE:
Jamaica Scorpions 375, 92.2 overs (John Campbell 101, Javelle Glenn 68, Odean Smith 51, Brad Barnes 50; Jediah Blades 4/64, Ackeem Auguste 2/45,) & 110-2, (Brandon King 58 n.o., Javelle Glenn 20 n.o.; Johann Layne 2/16)
vs WI Academy 211, 46.5 overs (Carlon Bowen-Tuckett 57, Mbeki Joseph 54; Brad Barnes 3/25, Ojay Shields 3/40, Marquino Mindley 2/32)
