South squander good start at Oval

AFTER lunch there was hardly a ball that got past the broad bats of Sherwin Ganga and Tishan Maraj.

But in a dramatic late afternoon,  South lost nine wickets for 140 runs to close the first day of the annual Pizza Hut Gerry Gomez Classic at the Queen’s Park Oval on 271 for nine wickets. Last wicket pair Marlon Black and Theodore Modeste will resume batting this morning looking for a further 29 runs so that their team can cash in on the $2,500 available from the sponsors Prestige Holdings. The 300-run plus score looked a real possibility before the close until skipper Shazam Babwah lost his patience and wicket for 69 to leave with the score at 256.

Earlier in the day North skipper Imran Jan won the toss and decided to insert the Southerners. This decision looked the wrong one around the lunch table as South reached 89 without loss at the break. Opener Maraj and Ganga played attractively and entertained the sparse crowd at the Oval lapping up the morning’s action. Ganga was savage on the cut, while Maraj preferred the drive as they took their team to a position of strength. However the dismissal of both batsmen within 11 runs of each other saw the Southern Boys struggle to keep the North bowlers at bay for the rest of the day. The first to go was Sherwin Ganga who was caught by Jan off the bowling of Dwayne Bravo for 55 with the score at 131. He batted for 192 minutes, faced 123 balls and struck seven fours. Maraj soon followed for 65 caught by Powell at point off Ryad Emrit. The disciplined right hander faced 171 balls and struck eight fours in 216 minutes of watchful batting.

Apart from a few lusty blows from Denzil James (24) the only other batsman to look comfortable was the very talented Babwah. The right-hander batted confidently and was definitely the best batsman on show, as he raced to 69 from just 85 balls with ten fours and a six. Trinidad and Tobago’s newest player Ricardo Powell was the one of the better bowlers on show, claiming two wickets for 19 runs bowling 12 overs of spin. He was well supported by Bravo who took three for 74 and Ryad Emrit (2/35). Play on the second day begins at 10 am today.