The English Lions roared at the Queen's Park Oval den in the first two sessions yesterday but Trinidad and Tobago was fighting back at the end of the opening day of their third round regional First Class clash.
Scores: England 311/9 vs T&T.
A very slow, flat pitch allowed the 'pride' of English batsmen to come to the fore, before the born-again Rayad Emrit and the improving Shannon Gabriel lead a remarkable fightback. Left hander Andrew Gale roared for two sessions and it was enough to count 110 runs for the Yorkshire batsman.However, his fall at 244 led to a collapse that saw six men return to the pavilion for the addition of 67 runs.While Gale was at the crease the the local bowlers fell prey as the hapless fielders chased boundary after boundary.
James Taylor who struck 186 in the last game against Barbados in Bridgetown made sure there was no let up for the locals, as he recorded a fine 66.Earlier, the Lions were greeted with brilliant sunshine as they peeped out to the Oval grassland. This made for the good hunt and on winning the toss their leader James Hildreth decided to take first strike. The bowlers were always on the backfoot in good batting conditions and England Lions posted an opening stand of 46 that set the tone for the rest of the day. Adam Lyth (34) started the dominance as he pounced on anything off line and sent it to the ropes. The best of the bowlers for T&T was the wirey Rayad Emrit. The man from El Dorado was up for a battle and got the first wicket to fall that off Jimmy Adams for 14.
The next passage of play would however set up the innings nicely for England Lions as Gale playing unfussed and Hildreth (40) added 95 runs. In their time at the crease they were able to cage the local bowlers, as anything they offered was met with either aggressive intent or broad defence. While out there the duo were enjoying the best batting the pitch would offer. As this match progresses it is expected to play slower and lower and would make batting difficult on the last day.In the final session T&T players showed great stamina leading a fightback as Gale perished for 110 - leg before to Emrit. His outing lasted 202 minutes, consumed 187 balls, 16 of which were sent all the way to the ropes. He was followed by James for 66 in 137 minutes off 98 balls with seven fours.
With Emrit bowling very tight from the Northern End, Ganga unleashed Gabriel from the Southern End and he produced a burst of three wickets for 33 runs, as England ended on 311 for nine. Gabriel's figures at the end tallied 3/72, while Emrit took 3/47.Play on the second day starts at 10am today.
SCOREBOARD
TT vs England Lions
Jimmy Adams c Ramdin b Emrit 14
Adam Lyth c Ramdin b S Ganga 34
Andrew Gale lbw Emrit 110
James Hildreth b Jaggernauth 40
James Taylor lbw Gabriel 66
Craig Kieswetter c Jaggernauth b Emrit 5
Adil Rashid c Guillen b Gabriel 7
Liam Plunkett c & b 17
Danny Briggs lbw Gabriel 4
Nathan Buck not out 11
Jade Dernbach not out 0
Extras b1, w1, nb1 3
Total 9 wkts (90ovs) 311
Fall of wkts: 46, 65, 160, 244, 268, 272, 281, 285, 311.
Bowling: S Gabriel 13-0-72-3 (1nb), R Emrit 17.5-5-47-3, A Jaggernauth 25-8-54-1, S Ganga 12-1-41-1, D Mohammed 8-0-34-0, I Khan 11-3-42-1, L Simmons 4-0-20-0 (1w).
