Pierre stars as North thrash South in low-scoring clash

North defeated South by an emphatic ten-wicket margin halfway into day three of the TT Cricket Board/Soca Kings North South Classic at the National Cricket Centre in Balmain, Couva, on Saturday.

Spinners Khary Pierre (5/29) and Tion Webster (3/21) were integral to North’s victory as they decimated South’s batsmen to set up an easy win for the Darren Bravo-captained unit. Of the 30 wickets that fell in the match, 26 were claimed by spinners.

When South resumed their second innings on Saturday on 53/4, they were still 12 runs in deficit of North’s first innings score of 207. Overnight batsmen Jason Mohammed and Justin Manick were tasked with stabilising the innings but Pierre and Webster took the next six wickets in quick succession, and had them all out for a paltry 94.

Their stellar bowling set up an easy 29-run victory target for North.

Openers Jeremy Solozano (28 not out) and Vikash Mohan (four) made no mistake in cruising to 32 without loss from 4.5 overs.

At the resumption on Saturday, with just five runs added to the scoreboard, Mohammed was caught by Yannic Cariah off Pierre – his fourth scalp of the innings.

Manick (14) soon departed, trapped leg-before by Pierre, before Jyd Goolie (nine) followed, caught by Cariah off Webster.

South skipper Imran Khan made just 12 before he became the eight wicket to fall with the score on 89 and North sniffing victory. The remaining two batsmen – Shannon Gabriel (five) and Shaaron Lewis (duck) – fell cheaply.

Pierre was named man of the match, Fast bowlers Uthman Muhammad (1/10) and Terrance Hinds (1/31) bagged one each.

North coach Rayad Emrit, who lifted his first North South title in this role, was elated with the win

“It’s always good to start off with a victory," he said. "We thought we had a really strong team heading into the game. What was easy for me as a coach is the team has been playing together because most of the guys are from the same club and they understand each other. They know each other’s capabilities. It was easy for me and the captain (Bravo).”

However, he lamented the low scoring by both teams.

“It was a bit disappointing that both teams didn’t score much runs on a pitch that was flat, but a bit challenging at times. I still thought that both teams didn’t bat well."

He said the low scores do not augur well for the national team.

"Looking at the bigger picture, it’s a concern for the players going forward. There is room for improvement and with a couple weeks before the (regional four-day) tournament starts, they can get it right,” Emrit said.

And despite both spinners capturing the lion’s share of wickets in the second innings, Emrit credited his pace attack for also playing integral roles in restricting the South team.

“We were expecting a tougher South team. Their guys didn’t sit down and orchestrate their innings.

“Kudos to our bowlers and even though the spinners shone, the seamers played really well and put pressure on them by attacking the stumps, did not bowl bad balls and much boundary balls. We had our plan and stuck to it.”

The North South Classic, and the recently concluded Namalco U23 Cup, served as trial for national team selection for the upcoming Cricket West Indies Regional Four-Day Championship.

Emrit hailed his team’s camaraderie over the three days and anticipates the selection of this year’s TT Red Force team.

In his role as coach, he said, “I thought it would have been a bit harder because some of the guys still consider me a player. But we’re all easy going and we interacted well. A lot of questions were asked so that was good for all of us.

“For me, it would be interesting to see who gets selected for the four-day tournament.”