Mansingh backs Scorpions in spite of dismal campaign
JAMAICA Scorpions all-rounder Abhijai Mansingh defended the team’s efforts even as they slumped to a humiliating defeat inside three days to Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in their West Indies Championship four-day class cricket match at Sabina Park on Friday.
The woeful Scorpions were bowled out for 118 runs after being asked to follow on to lose by an innings and 125 runs with well over a day to spare.
Scores: Red Force 432 (122 ovs); Scorpions 189 (63.4 ovs) & 118 (44.4 ovs).
The Red Force 28-yearold off-break bowler Bryan Charles spun a web around them. He had six wickets in the first innings, and returned to take career-best figures of 7-48 in the second to wrap up the innings minutes before the scheduled tea break on Friday afternoon.
The Scorpions ended the four-day tournament with five losses and two wins — which both came against Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) and West Indies Academy — from their seven matches.
The Red Force were earning their fourth win, after previously losing twice and drawing once during this campaign.
Mansingh, the stand-in vice-captain for this encounter, insisted the players and staff have given their best.
“Jamaica’s cricket isn’t at [its] strongest right now…we as players take the brunt of everything. I think the coaching staff and players have given their all. One thing I can say is that the effort was 110 [percent] throughout despite all the results,” he told journalists during a post-match interview.
He said the fragile Scorpions batting struggled to handle the pressure after the Red Force lost the loss and made a massive 432 runs when asked to take first strike.
“I think when you concede 400-plus runs in the first innings it is going to be tough, especially with tired bodies out there…with the batting we’ve had this season it’s going to be tough for us. We just haven’t been building big partnerships,” Mansingh, 27, explained.
Joshua Da Silva, the Red Force skipper who made a pivotal century on Wednesday’s opening day, was pleased with how his team wrapped up the season.
“To come back from a few games ago against Barbados where we had a terrible performance, we set out to win the next two games…we had a nail-biter [close victory] against CCC and it just so happens we came here to win the next one as well,” the West Indies Test wicketkeeper said.
He praised off spinner Charles for dominating the Scorpions batsmen in both innings.
“[He was] amazing; just shows his class his quality. He didn’t start off the season as he would have wanted to, but he definitely ended the season with a bang, which is good on him,” Da Silva, 25, said.
The Scorpions had resumed on Friday from their overnight score of 159-9 and added a further 30 runs before they were bowled out.
Jeavor Royal, who made a back-to-the-wall 46, was the last wicket to fall. Debutant Andrae Dennis ended on 12 not out, while Charles took 6-82.
The Red Force enforced the follow-on, but the Scorpions openers Carlos Brown and debutant left-hander Javaughn Buchanan took the hosts to the lunch interval at 39 without loss.
But all hell broke loose in the post-lunch session.
With the team score on 50, Brown (22) was dismissed softly, clipping a delivery from Charles to short mid wicket fielder Amir Jangoo.
West Indies Test left-hander Kirk Mckenzie (six), who made a half-century in the first innings, tried to hit over the top but Khary Pierre ran back and took a brilliant catch over his shoulder to leave the Scorpions on 60-2.
The remaining eight wickets fell for only 58 runs as the Scorpions folded without a semblance of a fight. The Red Force debutant spinner Navin Bidaisee supported Charles with two wickets and left-armer Pierre took the other.
Buchanan was the top scorer for the Scorpions with 33.