Guyana Jaguars roared to a five-wicket victory over the Leeward Islands Hurricanes, thanks to a brilliant century from the bat of captain Leon Johnson, in the CG Insurance Super50 Cup, at the Coolidge Cricket Ground on Friday night.
The Hurricanes openers posted the highest first-wicket partnership of the tournament so far, after Kieran Powell and Ross Powell had a slow but steady start of 152 in 31 overs.
Ross Powell made 61, which included eight fours, but became the first victim of left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, who took 4-45 and won the CG Insurance Man-of-the-Match award.
Kieran Powell looked well set to reach triple figures, but on 94 he smacked a drive to Johnson, at extra cover, to give Motie his second wicket. The knock came off just 97 deliveries, with four fours and four sixes.
There was little resistance left as the Leewards Hurricanes finished their 50 overs on 244-9. Motie was the pick of the Jaguars bowlers, while seamer Nial Smith had 3-47 also from 9 overs.
Assad Fudadin and Chanderpaul Hemraj started a cautious run-chase, as they posted 45 before Hemraj was dismissed for 24 off 22 balls. Shimron Hetmyer was run out for nine from a brilliant diving throw-in from Hayden Walsh Jr at point.
But it was the partnership of the most experienced players, captain Johnson and Chris Barnwell that took the game away from the Hurricanes. Barnwell was the aggressor, striking three sixes and a boundary on his way to a valiant 49 before Sheeno Berridge caught him slashing behind.
Johnson soldiered on despite battling cramps. He eventually brought up his second List A century in style with a drive to mid-off for a boundary. With Romario Shepherd at the other end, the pair rotated the strike to lead the Jaguars to the second victory of the tournament with 2.1 overs remaining.
Spinner Rahkeem Cornwall claimed a five-for to put the West Indies in a strong position but Bangladesh struck back immediately to leave the second Test delicately poised at the end of the third day.
By the final session of the day, the West Indies had dismissed the hosts for 296 to begin the second innings with a 113-run lead. However, they ended the day at 41 for 3, having lost captain Kraigg Brathwaite (6), John Campbell (18), and Shayne Mosely (7) before long.
The West Indies captain was the first casualty, miscuing a shot off Nayeem Hasan, which caught the top of his gloves before being taken by wicketkeeper Liton Das. Shayne Moseley then departed after edging to second slip, in the process becoming Mehidy Hasan’s 100th Test wicket. Brathwaite’s opening partner Campbell was then dismissed in bizarre fashion, with the ball spinning back off the ground to hit the stumps after he had attempted to play a defensive stroke.
Earlier, Das and Mehidy, who got together before lunch, played out a crucial session after the break – with the team still over fifty short of avoiding the follow-on and looking at one point like they would have headed in that direction. Eventually, the two accounted for a valuable 126-run partnership and looked set to potentially cause even more severe damage.
Cornwall, however, ensured it would not be the case. Having earlier removed both captain Mominul Haque (21) a confident-looking Mushfiqur Rahim (54) and Mohammad Mithun (15), earlier, he put an end to the partnership after removing Das. The batsman took the dreaded walk after getting an edge off an attempted paddle, for 71. Cornwall added No. 9 Nayeem Hasan to complete his tally. It was pace bowler Shannon Gabriel who accounted for Mehidy after an attempted drive.
Cornwall ended the innings with figures of 5 for 74, while Gabriel ended with 3 for 70. Nkrumah Bonner (8) and Jomel Warrican (2) will be the batsman resuming the day at the crease for the West Indies on the fourth day.
Jamaica’s Kemba Nelson, a junior at the University of Oregon won the 60m dash at the Tyson Invitational held at the Randal Tyson Track Centre in Fayetteville, Arkansas earlier this evening.
Danielle Williams won the finals of the 60m hurdles at the Clemson Tiger Paw Invitational earlier today in the third-fastest time in the world this year.
West Indies legend, Clive Lloyd, is hopeful the region will not soon be locked in a battle for the services of burgeoning talent who may be tempted by the prospect of playing in big-money T20 leagues.
Since the advent of the cash-rich shortest format of the sport, the top Caribbean players have often found themselves caught between representing the regional team and earning from the major payday provided by the global T20 calendar.
With the emergence of a new generation of talented West Indies players, the likes of Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, and particularly more recently Kyle Mayers, Nkrumah Bonner, and Joshua Da Silva, Lloyd is already worried Cricket West Indies could find itself in a similar position to several years ago.
“I impress on the board and all those that are in charge, to make sure that these guys stick with our cricket,” Lloyd told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“We can’t afford to lose another three guys because I know the IPL fellows are going to come knocking and it’s very difficult for them to say no,” he added.
“They have a lot of T20 games in which they will be able to make money, but the point is the other countries seem to be able to harness their talent. They go to those places and play but when international cricket is being played, they are back there. Let’s just hope that we keep these young men we are grooming that we work hard with and they’ve now come to fruition; so that the captain or whoever will have people to call on. If you keep losing players, it’s like digging a hole to fill a hole.”
Fast bowling great Sir Curtly Ambrose believes some West Indies players who opted out of the tour of Bangladesh could come to regret their decisions not to go because of how well the team is performing there.
West Indies fast bowler, Alzarri Joseph, is confident that he will eventually get to triple digits after another close miss against Bangladesh on Thursday.
The 24-year-old racked up an impressive 82 from 108 balls, as part of staunch mid-lower order resistance, en route to the Windies posting a satisfactory first innings score of 409. In the end, Joseph’s aggressive innings was ended when he was caught by Liton Das as he attempted to pull away Abu Jayed.
His total proved a handy one for the team, who will count any runs from the bowler as a huge bonus. For Joseph, however, a player who prides himself on his batting, it was the second time he was coming close to making his first Test century.
Against New Zealand, in December, Joseph put together a commendable 86, which remains his highest score to date.
“It’s disappointing not to get 100 but I’ve been working hard on my batting, so there will be other opportunities to get that total,” he added.
“When I came to the crease it was just to spend some time and support Josh (Joshua Da Silva) at the crease."
Together Joseph and Da Silva put together an important 7th wicket partnership.
West Indies and Trinidad and Tobago wicketkeeper-batsman Joshua Da Silva dedicated his performance against Bangladesh today to Andrea Bharratt, the young woman, who recently was abducted and murdered in Trinidad and Tobago.
The 23-year-old woman was abducted on January 29 and her body was found on February 4 in the Heights of Aripo in the twin-island republic. Police have taken into custody a man who they said is linked to several sex crimes committed in that country.
The tragic news has shaken many in the country, including Da Silva, who is on duty for the West Indies, thousands of miles away in Bangladesh.
Wearing a black armband, the 22-year-old batsman scored 92 on Friday as the West Indies made 409 all out. He featured in partnerships of 88 with Nkrumah Bonner and 118 with Alzarri Joseph that put the Caribbean side in a strong position going into Saturday’s third day.
In a post on his Instagram page afterwards, he explained the reason behind wearing the armband.
“Today was for Andrea and the women of Trinidad and Tobago,” he said while calling for more to be done to protect his country’s women from violence.
“We have been silent and we have allowed too many tragedies to pass in vain. Silence and inactivity are not acceptable anymore. Our voices must be heard and our women must be respected and protected.
“More must be done to educate and teach our men to end the violence against women. I stand in solidarity with the people of Trinidad and Tobago and with the Bharratt family. Justice for Andrea.”
Andrea Bharratt's funeral was held earlier today.
Nkrumah Bonner and Joshua Da Silva just missed out on their maiden Test centuries while Alzarri Joseph produced his second-highest score as the West Indies dominated play on Friday’s second day of the second Test against Bangladesh at Dhaka.
Evin Lewis’ better than a run-a-ball century helped the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force romp to a five-wicket victory with 55 balls to spare over the Jamaica Scorpions at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium today.
Canadian track star, Andre De Grasse, admits to being impressed with the rapid progress of young Jamaica quarter-miler Christopher Taylor.
These days, the athletes often cross paths as both train in Florida with well-respected coach Rana Reider. Taylor recently opened his season with a quick 45.73 clocking to finish second in the men’s Indoor 400m at the World Athletics Tour in Fayetteville, Arkansas a few weeks ago.
The outing was the prodigy’s first 400m race since 2019, but he had also surprised many last year with a brisk 10.42 over 100m. De Grasse would, however, not have been among those surprised by the high level of those recent performances.
“He very talented, very, very talented. Sometimes I ask the coach to put me in a workout with him because he is very good for 300 workouts for me when I am preparing for the 200m,” De Grasse told SportsMax.tv’s The Commentators.
“He is very good. He just ran the other day and I am really happy for him. His problem the last couple of years is trying to stay fit and he is very healthy right now and feeling good,” he added.
“It was very impressive (recent run) especially for an indoor season, he’s never done it before, so by the time he comes outdoor he should be in good shape. I’ve been watching him, he’s been in the group for a couple of years now but I think he is taking a lot of things more seriously.”
Listen to the rest of the interview from this week's The Commentators podcast below.
West Indies middle-order batsman, Nkrumah Bonner, insists he always puts pressure on himself to do well, after scoring another half-century against Bangladesh on day one of the second Test.
On the back of a patient 86, which proved crucial to the Windies in their first Test win, Bonner once against set himself up to be the lynchpin of the innings. At the close of the first day’s play, the batsman remained unbeaten on a watchful 74 from 173 balls.
Bonner’s stand brought stability back to the innings after the Windies lost three wickets for 29 runs after lunch. The team had gone to lunch at 84 for 1, with Brathwaite on 36 and Shayne Moseley on six.
“For me, every innings that I play, I put pressure on myself,” Bonner told windiescricket following the innings.
“We get paid to make runs and to be consistent and that’s exactly what I’m trying to do.”
Bonner, who will resume batting with Joshua Da Silva on the second day, admits the team suffered from early mishaps but has targeted making around 350 from the first innings.
“We had a few soft dismissals, but that’s the nature of the game, me and Josh are there now, and we still have others to come, so we will have to just bat as long as possible.”
The West Indies threw away a solid start to the second Test against Bangladesh and had to rely on an unbeaten 74 from Nkrumah Bonner to end the day at 223 for 5 at Dhaka.
A superb, unbeaten century by Keacy Carty and a cameo from Hayden Walsh Jr, led Leewards Islands Hurricanes to a sensational victory over Barbados Pride in Match 3 of the CG Insurance Super50 Cup on Wednesday night.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
