Pride in driver’s seat at Sabina
THE JAMAICA Scorpions find themselves in an uneasy situation against the Barbados Pride, as the home side enters today’s fourth and final day on 220 for eight, a lead of just 100 runs, in their West Indies Championship match at Sabina Park.
Derval Green (6) and Gordon Bryan (0) will try to bat deep into today’s last day and in a bid to extend the team’s lead as the Barbados Pride, first put in a decent shift with the bat and then followed that up with the ball to leave themselves in the driver’s seat to force an outright victory.
Resuming the day on 315 for six, overnight batsmen Shane Dowrich (19) and captain Kraigg Brathwaite (129) added another 38 runs in the morning session before Dowrich fell to Derval Green for 44.
Two runs later, captain Brathwaite was snapped up by Jermaine Blackwood off Peat Salmon for 142 after facing 314 balls and hitting 15 fours.
The Barbados tail continued to wag a bit and took the score to 389, with Derval Green being the chief destroyer bagging four wickets for 78 runs. Salmon supported with three for 94 for the Scorpions who faced a 120-run deficit.
The home side got off to the worst possible start to their second innings, as Chadwick Walton fell for four runs with just nine on the board.
Opener Carlos Brown and Kirk McKenzie consolidated and took the score to 70 before pacer Shaquille Cumberbatch decided he wanted in on the action and produced a superb spell of seam bowling.
The stocky right armer first had McKenzie caught behind down the leg side for 39 and then trapped Brown in front for 35 at 82 for three.
Things would get even worse, as just two runs later, the woefully out-of-form captain Jermaine Blackwood lasted just three balls as he had his stumps disturbed by Cumberbatch for a duck.
Leroy Lugg and Abhijai Mansingh began the recovery mission by putting on 72 for the fifth wicket but as soon as things were looking up, Lugg went caught off Cumberbatch for 43 after hitting two fours and two sixes.
Mansingh continued to chip away at the bowling and brought up his fourth first-class half-century, but shortly after achieving the milestone, he was bowled by Jomel Warrican for 54 after hitting five fours and a six.
Wicketkeeper Romaine Morris came and hit two fours and was also put down in the process, but he soon fell to spinner Kevin Wickham to leave the Scorpions in a spot of bother at 208 for seven.
With just minutes to go to close of play, Peat Salmon slashed at a Wickham delivery outside off stump and was caught behind for eight to further sink the Scorpions who managed to claw their way to stumps.
Cumberbatch has so far taken four for 22 and Wickham two for 26.