First-day sucker punch for Scorpions

RIGHT-ARM MEDIUM pacer Ryan John utilised cool conditions to great effect, claiming five wickets to help the Windward Islands Volcanoes seize the upper hand on the opening day of their round one West Indies Championship fixture against hosts Jamaica Scorpions at Sabina Park yesterday.

John, bowling from the Courtney Walsh end, picked up five wickets for 43 runs from 13 overs to restrict the Scorpions to a paltry 159 all out in 41 overs.

In reply, the Volcanoes closed day one on 157 for two, trailing on first innings by just two runs with eight wickets in hand thanks largely to an unbeaten knock of 66 from Johann Jeremiah.

Asked to take the first strike, the Scorpions had little answer to the seam of John and Barbadian seamer Shamar Springer, who grabbed three wickets in a disciplined bowling outing from the visitors.

However, it was opening pacer Sherman Lewis who got things rolling for the Volcanoes, rattling the stumps of Scorpions opener Chadwick Walton for just four runs.

Test batsman Kirk McKenzie hit a solitary boundary, but he misjudged one from John and was bowled for 10.

27 FOR THREE

Veteran Nkrumah Bonner didn’t last long either as he went caught behind for 1 as the Scorpions were in big trouble at 27 for three.

Captain Jermaine Blackwood made 14, and opener Carlos Brown batted 90 minutes for just eight runs, but when they fell, the home side was staring down the barrel at 45 for 5, all this before lunch on the opening day.

It took a 53-run partnership from wicket-keeper Romaine Morris and Abhijai Mansingh to bring some respectability to the Scorpion’s score, but when they got to 96, Morris went run out for an innings top score of 35.

The Windwards were never going to let the Scorpions get away and continued to pick up wickets despite a flurry of boundaries from Peat Salmon, who was the ninth wicket to fall for 26 with three fours and a six.

Fittingly, John took the final wicket of the innings when he removed Marquino Mindley for 13 as the Scorpions innings folded for 159.

Springer supported with three wickets for 53, with Lewis ending with one for 30.

In reply, the Volcanoes progressed nicely after the left-handed Jeremiah faced 103 balls and hit nine fours and a six in his unbeaten knock.

Sunil Ambris will resume today on 30 after hitting five fours while captain Kimani Melius made 31 before he went caught by Derval Green off Mansingh. Opener Jeremy Solozano made 26 before he was bowled by Peat Salmon.

The game was one of two that were to have started yesterday in Jamaica with the Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners taking on the Barbados Pride at Chedwin Park.

However, a wet outfield meant that there was no play in that game.

West Indies Championship Day-One results

At Conaree Cricket Centre in Basseterre, St Kitts

Trinidad and Tobago Red Force: 215 for four (Jason Mohammed 100 not out, Tion Webster 50, Amir Jangoo 27, Vikash Mohan 20 not out)

Guyana Harpy Eagles: Ronsford Beaton 2-39, Veerasammy Permaul 2-42

At Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts:

Leeward Islands Hurricanes: 137 (Jeremiah Louis 45, Terence Warde 28, Jahmar Hamilton 22)

Cricket West Indies Academy: Joshua James 3-11, Ashmead Nedd 2-3, Johann Layne 2-18, Nyeem Young 2-52.

Cricket West Indies Academy: 60 for two (Mbeki Joseph 30 not out).

At Chedwin Park in Spanish Town, Jamaica:

Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners vs Barbados Pride: No play due to a wet outfield caused by a ruptured water main.

At Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica:

Jamaica Scorpions: 159 (Romaine Morris 35, Peat Salmon 26

Windward Islands Volcanoes: Ryan John 5-43, Shamar Springer 3-53).

Windward Islands Volcanoes: 157 for two (Johann Jeremiah 66 not out, Kimani Melius 31, Sunil Ambris 30 not out, Jeremy Solozano 26).