The Trinidad and Tobago Red Force were down after the first ball of their four-day West Indies Championship match against the Windward Islands Volcanoes but rallied to end the day in the strongest position after dismissing the hosts for 243. to end the day. 50 for one.
At the Grenada National Stadium yesterday, the Red Force won the toss and elected to field first. However, the visitors lost Vikash Mohan to injury on the first ball of the match.
The debutant tried to take a catch off the bowling of Terrance Hinds but instead injured his hand and was out for the rest of the day.
The early setback did little to dampen the spirits of the Red Force with Hinds hitting two early strikes to put his side on top.
The right-arm medium pacer, who finished with four wickets for 72 runs, was able to take some off the surface and used it to his advantage with opener Kimani Melius (4) taking an outside edge to wicketkeeper Amir Jangoo in the third part. . Number three batsman Kavem Hodge was similarly out two overs later as the hosts slumped to 16 for two.
Tion Webster also took a wicket in the first session, Jerlani Robinson took first wicket with a score of 44. Volcanoes captain Alick Athanaze showed some batting tussle along with former West Indies Test player Sunil Ambris as the duo combined to take the Windwards to lunch at 86 for three.
Athanaze looked good as he took Hinds to the cover boundary for four minutes, while Ambris took the onslaught to the bowlers, hitting left-arm spinner Khary Pierre and Bryan Charles for a six each.
Athanaze (41) tried to pick up the pace after lunch, but his hurdle from Charles appeared to Hinds midway through as the Volcanoes lost the opening four.
Meanwhile, Ambris hit pacer Uthman Muhammad for four to take the hosts to three figures. Hinds, however, kept T&T in the hunt, bowling Justin Greaves before taking the big head of Ambris, caught at river by Charles for 55 as the hosts slumped to 130 for six.
But that’s all the success T&T would manage in the session as Tevyn Walcott and Ryan John bundled their side to 211 for six at the tea interval.
Walcott led the charge with 64 from 68 while John was unbeaten on 27 from 53 at the afternoon break. The pair split at the start of the final session with John edging Pierre with Charles at first slip for 36.
Charles then claimed the last three wickets in quick time to finish with four for 46, which saw him pass 100 wickets in first-class cricket. Walcott was stranded on 87 when the innings ended.
The Red Force experimented with Pierre opening the batting alongside Jeremy Solozano, but the move didn’t pay off with the innings opener departing for a duck in the second over.
However, Solozano and captain Darren Bravo joined forces to ensure there were no more hiccups in the final session, both men showing great patience in the face of some tight bowling from the hosts to keep the Red Force on top. Bravo faced 54 balls for his 32 not outs, while Solozano faced 65 balls for his 18 not outs.
with 64 off 68 balls, while John was unbeaten on 27 off 53 balls at the afternoon break. The pair split at the start of the final session with John edging Pierre with Charles at first slip for 36.
Charles then claimed the last three wickets in quick time to finish with four for 46, which saw him pass 100 wickets in first-class cricket. Walcott was stranded on 87 when the innings ended.
The Red Force experimented with Pierre opening the batting alongside Jeremy Solozano, but the move didn’t pay off with the innings opener departing for a duck in the second over.
However, Solozano and captain Darren Bravo joined forces to ensure there were no more hiccups in the final session, both men showing great patience in the face of some tight bowling from the hosts to keep the Red Force on top. Bravo faced 54 balls for his 32 not outs, while Solozano faced 65 balls for his 18 not outs.
