GROS ISLET–Yannick Ottley agonisingly missed out on his maiden first class hundred as he led a gallant Trinidad and Tobago Red Force batting display on the penultimate day of their fifth round game against Windward Islands Volcanoes here yesterday.
The right-hander was left stranded on 99 as the visitors were dismissed for 382 in their first innings, to secure a healthy lead of 76 in the Regional First Class Championship contest at the Beausejour Cricket Stadium.
Left-hander Yannick Cariah, unbeaten on 58 overnight, scored 70 while Narsingh Deonarine, also on 58 on resumption, made 60.
Marlon Richards, batting at number ten, contributed a cameo 60 at better than a run-a-ball to add to Volcanoes' frustration as Red Force batted almost the entire day.
Barbadian seamer Kevin McClean was the best bowler on show with four for 66 while West Indies off-spinner Shane Shillingford claimed three for 109. At the close, Volcanoes were two without loss, heading into a pivotal final day.
Resuming the day on 153 for two, Red Force stumbled early when they lost left-hander Deonarine in the second over after adding just two runs to his overnight score, caught and bowled by McClean.
Cariah and Jason Mohammed (11) fell in quick succession to leave Red Force on 182 for five and in need of a big partnership to rescue the innings.
Ottley then stepped up, adding a vital 76 with wicketkeeper Steven Katwaroo, who scored 25, as the pair took Red Force to the lunch interval on 199 for five.
On resumption, their stand flourished, mainly through Ottley who dominated the partnership. All told, he struck 12 fours in an innings spanning 218 balls and four-and-a-half hours.
Katwaroo, whose knock occupied 99 minutes and included two fours, eventually departed when he was bowled by left-arm seamer Kenroy Peters leading to a slide which saw three wickets fall for 21 runs.
Still short of the lead at 279 for eight, Ottley found an ally in the bold Richards and they battered Volcanoes with an 86-run, ninth wicket partnership.
Richards belted a four and five sixes off a mere 58 balls and it was this flair for the audacious that eventually cost him his wicket and Ottley his century, as he holed out in the deep off Shillingford.
SCOREBOARD
WI Volcanoes vs T&T Red Force
VOLCANOES 1st Inns 306
RED FORCE 1st Inns (o/n 153 for two)
J Solozano c Ambris b McClean 2
K Hope c Ambris b McClean 31
Y Cariah c McClean b Shillingford 70
N Deonarine c and b McClean 60
J Mohammed c Theophile
b Shillingford 11
Y Ottley not out 99
S Katwaroo b Peters 25
A Hosein c Smith b Peters 1
I Khan c Theophile b McClean 8
M Richards c Peters b Shillingford 60
U Muhammed lbw b Sebastien 1
Extras (b10, lb2, w1, nb1) 14
TOTAL (all out, 141.1 overs) 382
Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-51, 3-157, 4-175, 5-182, 6-258, 7-262, 8-279, 9-365, 10-382.
Bowling: Mathew 22-6-36-0 (nb1), McClean 17-1-66-4 (w1), Peters 29-9-44-2- Shillingford 452-4-109-3, 30.1-5-104-1, Theophile 6-2-11-0.
VOLCANOES 2nd Inns
D Smith not out 1
T Theophile not out 1
TOTAL (without loss) 2
Bowling: Deonarine 2-1-2-0, Hosein 1-1-0-0.
Position: Volcanoes trail by 74 runs with all ten second innings wickets intact.
Other Scores:
JAGUARS 189 (Assad Fudadin 47, Vishaul Singh 45; Nikita Miller 6-46, John Campbell 3-45) and 282 (Tagenarine Chanderpaul 81, Leon Johnson 42, Anthony Bramble 35, Raymon Reifer 24; Damion Jacobs 4-78, Nikita Miller 2-48, Marquino Mindley 2-59) SCORPIONS 146 (Devon Thomas 30, Andre McCarthy 27; Veerasammy Permaul 5-25, Steven Jacobs 2-10) and 82 for three (John Campbell 26; Damion Jacobs 2-13)
PRIDE 368 and 1 without loss (0.2 overs) HURRICANES 170 and 198
