South hold strong hand Gerry Gomez

SET a winning target of 412 runs in a minimum 112 overs, North closed the third day of the 2004 Pizza Hut/Gerry Gomez North/South Classic on 23 runs for one wicket yesterday, and in dire need of another 389 runs on today’s final day.

Scores: SOUTH 278 and 268. NORTH 135. North facing a daunting task on a wearing pitch, lost skipper and opening batsman Imran Jan in the second over of the 12 they were asked to face yesterday afternoon. The left-hander was trapped leg before by pacer Theodore Modeste for three. At the close, Dwayne Bravo five not out and Earnil Ryan 14 not out were at the crease. The Northerners now have just 100 overs to reach their target today at a rate of 3.89 runs per over. The odds are certainly with South to capture the trophy and the $2,000 prize money. South resumed their second innings on 62 for one wicket yesterday morning and overnight batsmen Tishan Maraj and Kenton Thompson batted well to blunt the early burst from pacers Ryad Emrit and Ricardo Paty. Thompson was first to a half century scored off 122 balls with four fours in 144 minutes. But on exactly 50, he fell to the impressive Emrit.

Maraj who got 65 in the first innings continued his good form and brought up his half century just before the lunch break, taken at 144 for three. Soon after the break he lost skipper Shazam Babwah for 16 and Denzil James 17. But Maraj found an able partner in wicketkeeper Gibran Mohammed and they took the score to 179 before he was out for  64. He batted for 307 minutes, faced 226 balls and struck three fours and one six. After his dismissal fast bowler Marlon Black thrilled the Oval crowd with an array of pleasant strokes which surprised most, except South manager Roland Sampath. The West Indies Under-19 manager Sampath has taken Black under his wings and had him for early morning sessions at the Sir Frank Worrell Cricket Academy. After the fall of Mohammed for 18, Black soldiered on and struck a wonderful 42 before being last man out. Pick of the North bowlers was Jamaican-born Ricardo Powell who took three wickets for 41 runs., while Paty took three for 45 and Emrit two for 58.
Play gets underway at 9.35 am.

Pizza Hut/Gerry Gomez Classic Scoreboard

NORTH vs SOUTH
South 1st inns: 278
North 1st inns: 135
South 2nd inns: (Overnight 62/1)

T Maraj c Stewart b Kanhai 64
S Ganga LBW b Paty 2
K Thompson c Augustus b Paty 50
D James c Augustus b Emrit 17
S Babwah b Emrit 16
G Mohammed LBW b Bravo 18
M Black c Kanhai b Powell 42
D Krishna b Paty 0
A Jaggernauth b Powell 11
B Harriot LBW b Powell 12
T Modeste not out 2
EXTRAS (B17, LB10, W4, NB3) 34
Total 268
Fall of wickets: 14; 91; 127; 150;179; 212; 213; 235; 241.
BOWLING: Paty 26-8-45-3, Emrit 21-4-58-2, Ryan 4-1-20-0, Bravo 12-3-22-1, Jan 12-6-12-0, Powell 19-5-41-3, Augustus 3-0-6-0, Subran 7-0-30-0, Kanhai 4-1-7-1.

North 2nd inns:
I Jan LBW b Modeste 3
D Bravo not out 5
E Ryan not out 14
EXTRAS (LB1) 1
Total for one wicket 23
Fall of wicket: 3.
BOWLING: Modeste 3-0-15-1; Black 3-1-7-0.