On a day when a number of former national cricketers turned up for a reunion, the current T&T team failed to impress, as Barbados took control of the opening WICB Professional Cricket League (PCL) clash at the end of the second day of the match at the Queen's Park Oval in Port-of-Spain.Barbados captain Kraigg Brathwaite scored 182 and wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich made 76, to lead their side to 360 all out. The Red Force closed the day, tottering on 89 for seven - 271 runs behind.
Just before the tournament started the Barbadians sat in their dressing room to come up with a apt nickname for the their team. They agreed on lions and a group of lions forming a pride, hence the name Barbados Pride. They showed the T&T boys that they were capable of hunting them down easily and will start the third day today, looking to keep T&T below the follow on mark of 210 runs. It seemed as if the officials changed the pitch after Barbados batted because the local boys made batting look very difficult on a strip that Brathwaite made 182.West Indies batsmen Lendl Simmons (25) and Denesh Ramdin (0) failed to lead from the front and others just buckled under the pressure. Yannic Carriah made a patient 26 but going for a sweep shot just before the end of play, gave his wicket away.
Earlier, Barbados resumed on the bedtime position of 209 for four and Brathwaite and Dowrich continued their impressive partnership. Although the sun was not out in all its glory, the steady wind sweeping the ground continued to dry out the pitch and the ball started to come on nicely unto the bat.The two extended their partnership to an impressive 176 before T&T finally got the breakthrough. Leg-spinner Imran Khan induced an edge from his tentative bat and Lewis at short leg snapped up the chance. Dowrich batted for 244 minutes, faced 107 balls and struck 10 fours. Two balls later the Red Force were celebrating again, as Carlos Brathwaite top edged Khan to short fine leg and Simmons ran around to claim the catch.
Brathwaite at the other end was solid and a little more adventurous than on the opening day. He played some attractive shots and went past 150 in the company of all rounder Ashley Nurse. Another 33 runs were added before Nurse fell to Akeal Hosein for 29. Hosein would later nab the precious wicket of Brathwaite to hurry the end, which came just after the lunch break.Brathwaite's marathon 182 came in 454 minutes off 361 balls and included 17 fours. This knock was his fourth century in a very prolific second half of the year.Play gets underway at 9.30 am, to make up for lost time.
SCOREBOARD
T&T Red Force vs Barbados Pride
Barbados 1st inns
K Brathwaite c Khan b Hosein 182
O Phillips c Ramdin b Richards 9
D Smith c Ramdin b Richards 10
J Carter c Ramdin b Richards 0
R Chase lbw Gabriel 24
S Dowrich c Lewis b Khan 76
C Brathwaite c Simmons b Khan 0
J Holder c & b Emrit 17
A Nurse c Simmons b Hosein 29
K Roach not out 1
J Warrican st Ramdin b I Khan 9
Extras b1,w1, 1b 3
Total all out 360
Fall of wkts: 22, 36, 40, 85, 261, 261, 294, 342, 349, 360.
Bowling: S Gabriel 19-3-61-1, M Richards 21-8-51-3, R Emrit 16-3-49-1, A Hosein 25-7-56-2, I Khan 24.2-3-75-3, Y Ottley 4-0-7-0, Y Carriah 5-0-13-0, J Mohammed 7-2-22-0, L Simmons 4-0-14-0.
T&T inns
L Simmons c Smith b Roach 25
E Lewis c Dowrich b C Brathwaite 10
Y Ottley c Dowrich b C Brathwaite 3
J Mohammed b C Brathwaite 0
Y Carriah c Phillips b Warrican 26
D Ramdin b Roach 0
A Hosein c Holder b Nurse 9
I Khan not out 13
R Emrit not out*2
Extras nb1 1
Total for seven wkts 89
Fall of wkts: 22, 22, 34, 42, 42, 62, 84.
Bowling: K Roach 9-4-25-2, J Holder 9-5-17-0, C Brathwaite 9-4-8-3, A Nurse 8-0-22-1, D Smith 3-0-7-0, J Warrican 2-0-10-1.
Other PCL scores
At Kingston, Jamaica
Jamaica vs Windiwards
JAMAICA 208 (Nikita Miller 57 not out, John Ross Campbell 46, Marquino Mindley 43, Tamar Lambert 30, Jermaine Blackwood 22; Alston Bobb 6-45) and 148 for nine (Nkrumah Bonner 41, Carlton Baugh 31, Davion Jacobs 29; Alston Bobb 5-46, Mervyn Mathew 3-19)
WINDWARDS 110 (Alston Bobb 38, Tyrone Theophile 24; Marquino Mindley 5-35, Nikita Miller 4-25)
At Providence, Guyana
Guyana vs Leeward Islands
GUYANA 343 (Narsingh Deonarine 110 not out, Anthony Bramble 46, Shiv Chanderpaul 45, Chris Barnwell 33; Gavin Tonge 4-60, Jacques Taylor 2-71)
LEEWARDS 94 (Anthony Martin 25; Veerasammy Permaul 3-18, Ronsford Beaton 3-26, Devendra Bishoo 3-26) and 4-0.