Red Force hold edge over Scorpions

THE TT Red Force hold a slight edge over the Jamaica Scorpions at the midway point of their rescheduled West Indies Four-Day Championship contest, at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba.

In the battle of the two bottom teams, the Scorpions ended the second day on 282 runs for six wickets, with Nkrumah Bonner not out on 42 and Kennar Lewis on six. Jermaine Blackwood made a stroke-filled 66 and Brandon King 59 while, for the hosts, pacers Shannon Gabriel and Anderson Phillip each took two wickets.

Earlier in the day, the Red Force were dismissed for 389 with the experienced Jason Mohammed top-scoring with 94.

Openers John Campbell and Garth Garvey were removed on either side of the luncheon interval. Campbell, who recently made his international debut against England, played a loose shot from Phillip to gully and Garvey, pushing forward to a full delivery from Gabriel, was dismissed leg-before.

Blackwood played in typical enterprising fashion, dominating a third-wicket stand of 66 with Assad Fudadin. The diminutive right-hander struck ten boundaries in his 90-ball knock before he tried to heave leg-spinner Imran Khan over midwicket and was bowled.

Fudadin followed shortly after tea, with a lazily-hit drive to cover. His skipper Paul Palmer ran down the track to left-arm spinner Khary Pierre and was stumped, on the second attempt, by Denesh Ramdin.

King played a mature knock, in collaboration with Bonner, as they featured in a sixth-wicket partnership of 81. But King (77 balls, nine fours and a six) could not handle a testy evening spell from Gabriel and fell via the leg-before route.

During the morning session, the Scorpions, led by Nicholson Gordon’s career-best figures of 7/70, ensured that the Red Force’s tail did not wag, as the hosts added only 51 runs for their last five wickets.

Mohammed, from his overnight score of 89, was the first to go, nicking one from Gordon to Lewis behind the stumps, after facing 158 deliveries and hitting seven fours and three sixes.

Pierre (31), the other overnight batsman, played a loose drive and dragged a delivery from pacer Jermaine Levy onto his stumps and Khan quickly followed, shouldering arms and losing his off-bail from an off-cutter by Gordon.

Entering the game with only four first-class wickets to his name, Gordon picked up his seventh in the innings when Odean Smith was snapped up by King at gully. And Bonner wrapped up the innings when he trapped Gabriel plumb leg-before.

SCOREBOARD

Red Force vs Jamaica

TT Red Force 1st inns:

(Overnight 338-5)

K Hope LBW b Gordon*64

J Solozano c Blackwood b Gordon*63

J Da Silva c King b Gordon*4

L Simmons b Bonner*30

J Mohammed c Lewis b Gordon*94

D Ramdin c Lewis b Gordon*41

K Pierre b Levy*31

I Khan b Gordon*2

O Smith c King b Gordon*12

A Phillip not out*17

S Gabriel LBW b Bonner*9

EXTRAS (B6, LB7, W7, NB2)*22

TOTAL: (all out)*389

Fall of wickets: 127; 135; 136; 187; 274; 343; 351; 351; 374; 389.

BOWLING: Levy 14-1-86-1 (W1, NB1); Gordon 22-4-70-7; Frazer 31-9-87-0; Garvey 8-0-32-0 (NB1); Campbell 7-1-26-0; Bonner 10.5-0-43-2; Blackwood 8-1-32-0 (W2).

Jamaica 1st inns:

J Campbell c Smith b Phillip*13

G Garvey LBW b Gabriel*16

J Blackwood b Khan*66

A Fudadin c Mohammed b Phillip*20

P Palmer stp Ramdin b Pierre*30

B King LBW b Gabriel*59

N Bonner not out*42

K Lewis not out*6

EXTRAS (B7, LB11, W6, NB6)*30

TOTAL (six wickets)*282

Still to bat: A Frazer, J Levy, N Gordon.

Fall of wickets: 26; 72; 138; 163; 187; 268.

BOWLING: Gabriel 15-4-35-2 (W2, NB1); Phillip 11-0-54-2; Smith 10-0-47-0 (NB5); Pierre 18-3-62-1; Khan 15-3-58-1; Mohammed 6-2-8-0.