Red Force hope for better weather vs WI Academy

Trinidad and Tobago Red Force will be hoping for improved weather conditions at the Conaree Sports Club in St Kitts on Wednesday as they bowl off round two of the West Indies Championship against West Indies Academy.

Red Force were forced to settle for a no-result in game one against defending champions Guyana Harpy Eagles, which ended on Saturday. There was no play in three of the four days because of rain.

Only day one bowled off with Red Force opting to bat first. They concluded the first day’s play on 215/4, led by Jason Mohammed’s unbeaten century and a Sion Webster half century.

Opener Vikash Mohan, who returned after a minor finger injury, hit 20 not out before rain intervened.

Red Force skipper and wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva is not yet confirmed to feature in round two after a wrist injury during a practice match forced him to miss the Guyana contest.

Guyana fast bowler Ronsford Beaton, who was the pick of the attack against Red Force, taking 2/39, was reported again for a suspect bowling action. Video footage and a written report was sent to Cricket West Indies' (CWI) bowling review group and Loughborough University for analysis.

Their report, on Sunday, found Beaton's action to be illegal, and he has been suspended from bowling in all West Indies international and regional and regional matches with immediate effect, said a CWI statement on Monday .

On the other hand, WI Academy notched an important five-wicket win over Leeward Islands Hurricanes in their opening match at Warner Park in St Kitts.

After Leewards scored 137 in their first innings, the academy responded with 177, a lead of 40 runs.

Leewards returned to the pitch and scored 232, with Jahmar Hamilton (70) and Mikyle Louis (55) leading the charge. This gave WI Academy a target of 193 for victory.

They met the target easily, in 33.5 overs, led by Kadeem Alleyne’s 57 and unbeaten knocks from Mbeki Joseph (43 not out) and Tobagonian Joshua James (41 not out).

First-round victories were also recorded by Barbados Pride, who defeated Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) by nine wickets at Chedwin Park in Jamaica, and Windward Islands Volcanoes, who trumped hosts Jamaica Scorpions by nine wickets at Sabina Park.

The other round-two matches will see Harpy Eagles up against the Hurricanes at Warner Park, Barbados Pride against Volcanoes at Kensington Park in Jamaica and Scorpions versus CCC at Sabina.