Akeal Hosein's destructive spell of spin bowling, backed up by an unbeaten half-century from Darren Bravo, gave T&T the advantage against the Windward Islands at the end of day two in their four-day regional match at the Queen's Park Oval, yesterday.It was a constant procession of batsmen in and out of the Brian Lara pavilion yesterday on a day that 17 wickets fell. Hosein had a day to remember as he carved his way through the Windwards batting, grabbing 6/33 in 13.5 overs to dismiss Windwards for 122. This gave T&T a lead of 100 runs on first innings.
Resuming on 12/0 in the first innings, the Windwards lost wickets regularly as they were reduced to 76/5 at lunch. After the break wicket-keeper Lyndon James decided to take the attack to the T&T spinners, especially against Imran Khan. James' luck eventually ended as he was stumped off Hosein. Opening batsman Devon Smith at this stage was 38 not out, hoping for a reliable partner. Unfortunately no other batsman could withstand the pressure from Hosein and company.It was only fitting that Hosein grabbed the last wicket, trapping Nelon Pascal leg before, as the Windwards were bundled out for 122, giving T&T a handsome lead of 100 runs on lst innings. Smith was left stranded on an unbeaten 48, while spinner Jason Mohammed supported Hosein, taking 2/17.
T&T got off to a disastrous start in the second innings, as pacer Delorn Johnson continued where he left off in the first innings. Johnson took two of the first four wickets to leave the home team on 32/4 at the tea break. Right-handed Imran Khan began the final session positive playing his shots, while Bravo remained watchful.As T&T started to regain some control of the match, Kenroy Peters got two quick wickets to reduce T&T to 59/6. Khan was dismissed for 25, while Hosein could not continue his heroics, as he was sent back to the pavilion without scoring. Bravo then found an able partner in captain Rayad Emrit.
Bravo and Emrit took the score to 106 when Emrit was dismissed for a patient 18 (57 balls). Emrit also contributed valuable runs in the first innings, scoring 28. T&T closed the day on 127/7, with an overall lead of 227 runs. Bravo is not out on 57, while Yannic Cariah is unbeaten on eight. Peters, Pascal and Johnson all picked up two wickets each.
SCOREBOARD
T&T vs WINDWARDS
T&T 1st innings
A Barath c James b Johnson 39
E Lewis lbw Pascal 2
D Bravo c James b Pascal 1
J Mohammed c R Currency b A Bobb 73
S Katwaroo+ st L James b A Bobb 20
I khan c L James b A Bobb 4
A Hosein c K Lesporis b A Bobb 7
Y Cariah c L James b D Johnson 24
*R Emrit b D Johnson 28
M Richards c L James b D Johnson 15
S Gabriel not out 2
Extras 3nb 1w 3lb 7
Total all out 222
Fall of Wkts: 8, 17, 85, 140, 141, 150, 153, 204, 207, 222
Bowling: N Pascal 9-1-27-1, D Johnson 17.4-5-48-5, K Peters 16-6-34-0, A Bobb 22-2-53-4, L Sebastien 15-5-39-0, D Polius 6-1-18-0
Windwards 1st Innings
D Smith not out 48
T Theophille c A Barath b R Emrit 17
D Polius run out(E Lewis) 5
K Lesporis c and b A Hosein 6
R Currency c D Bravo b A Hosein 0
L Sebastien c D Bravo b J Mohammed 9
L James+ st S Katwaroo b A Hosein 22
A Bobb c A Barath b A Hosein 6
K Peters b J Mohammed 0
D Johnson c D Bravo b A Hosein 2
N Pascal lbw b A Hosein 4
Extras 2nb 1w 3
Total all out 122
Fall of Wkts: 38, 45, 60, 60, 73, 100, 108, 109, 114, 122
Bowling: S Gabriel 8-3-20-0, M Richards 5-2-11-0, R Emrit 6-1-27-1, A Hosein 13.5-2-33-6, J Mohammed 7-2-17-2, I khan 2-0-14-0
T&T 2nd Innings
A Barath c L James b N Pascal 6
E Lewis lbw b D Johnson 0
D Bravo not out 57
J Mohammed lbw b D Johnson 6
S Katwaroo+ b L Sebastien 2
I khan lbw b K Peters 25
A Hosein lbw b K Peters 0
*R Emrit lbw b N Pascal 18
Y Cariah not out 8
Extras 2nb 1w 1lb 1b 5
Total for 7 wickets 127
Fall of wkts: 2, 8, 28, 32, 59, 59, 106
Bowling: N Pascal 8-1-26-2, D Johnson 5-3-16-2, A Bobb 8-3-22-0, L Sebastien 14-7-24-1, K Peters 7-2-23-2, D Polius 6-2-14-0