Pooran and Moseley fail to save Windies ‘A’ from sweeping defeat

NELSON, New Zealand (CMC) — Contrasting half-centuries from the left-handed pair of Nicholas Pooran and Shayne Moseley were undermined by a career-best spell from left-arm spinner Rachin Ravindra that sent West Indies “A” tumbling to a 101-run defeat against New Zealand “A” in the second “Test” yesterday.

Pooran, the Windies “A” captain for this match, smashed a run-a-ball, career-best 69 and Moseley followed up his first innings hundred with a resolute 54 before the visitors were bowled out for 256 in their second innings about 25 minutes after tea on the final day of the four-day, first-class match at Saxton Oval.

Fabian Allen made 35 and opener Brandon King added 32, but none of the other West Indies “A” batsmen reached 20 and none of them batted with the aplomb to make a victory target of 358 seem academic — and Ravindra blew through the innings to end with six for 89 from 19.3 overs.

Left-hander Jayden Seales was bowled for one, charging down the pitch, swinging and missing a flighted delivery from Ravindra to formalise the result in the fifth over after tea and symbolise the ineffectiveness of the Windies “A” approach to the challenge of batting through the day to save the match.

The result meant that the Caribbean side were swept in the two-match series, after they crashed to an innings and 143 runs defeat in the first Test, which ended two Saturdays ago at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.

The defeat also came hours after the West Indies international team, under Jason Holder, were crushed by an innings and 12 runs in the second Test against New Zealand, led by Tom Latham, in the country’s capital city of Wellington.

The Windies international side were also swept in their two-match series on another gut-wrenching day for the sport in the Caribbean.