TT in precarious position

DAVE MOHAMMED grabbed six wickets for 72 runs for Trinidad and Tobago but another wrist-spinner, Windward Islands’ captain Rawl Lewis, replied with three vital strikes on a pulsating second day of the Carib Beer Cricket Series Seventh Round battle at Shaw Park, Scarborough yesterday. After Hyron Shallow grafted his way to 63 and Deighton Butler provided some late-order defiance with 35, Lewis put the Windwards in the ascendancy with a captivating spell of three wickets for 15 runs in seven overs. Trinidad and Tobago, responding to the opposition’s 218, were precariously placed at 36 for four when light was offered to Sherwin Ganga (five) and Denesh Ramdin (four) by umpires Hayden Bruce and Clyde Duncan.

Lendl Simmons, terribly out of form this season, lasted exactly an hour before his patience ran out and snicked Darren Sammy to wicketkeeper Junior Murray for five. Fellow opener Tishan Maraj’s tortured knock for all of nine runs ended when he tried to cut a wide Lewis’ leg-break and the resulting edge was gobbled up by Murray behind the stumps. Four balls later Dwayne Bravo (0), who like Simmons and Maraj have done little with the bat so far this season, was mesmerised by a vicious leg-break, got a touch and the ball spun to slip where Sammy held on the second attempt. And captain Daren Ganga (seven), after striking Lewis to the midwicket boundary for four, tamely guided Lewis straight to Sammy at slip as the hosts lost four wickets in the space of 7.5 overs.

Mohammed’s effort with the ball clearly camouflaged a lethargic display in the field by his teammates, with six catches being dropped altogether. The small ground, with its square boundaries, would clearly entice a number of big-hitting strokes, and overnight batsman Craig Emmanuel took full advantage, launching off-spinner Amit Jaggernauth over mid-wicket, and into the surrounding bushes, early in the day’s play. With a liking for shot-making, Emmanuel showed no mercy on Mohammed and Jaggernauth, who opened the procedures. Gregory Mahabir was floored with a full-bodied sweep off left-arm spinner Mohammed, hit by the ball under his left-ear at forward short leg, and was taken for a precautionary x-ray.

Emmanuel, driving at Mohammed on 11, was put down by Rayad Emrit, a lazy grab at mid-off, while Hyron Shallow startled Jaggernauth with a return catch on 18, but the off-spinner put down the chance. The introduction of pacer Richard Kelly was a crucial move as he enticed an edge off Emmanuel when on 31 but, this time the ball went safely to the gloves of wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin. Three chances were subsequently spilled, with Sammy dropped twice by Sherwin Ganga—  at first slip off Bravo on three and a diving attempt off his own bowling when the batsman was on 10. Murray, who replaced an ill Shallow when the scoreboard read 121 for three, was also put down by Maraj at gully off Emrit on one. Emrit removed both Sammy (10) and Murray (15) shortly after lunch, with Sammy dragging one onto his stumps while Murray carelessly left a straight delivery and lost his off-bail.

Shallow, who made his way back out to the crease upon Sammy’s dismissal, deservedly reached his 50, but Liam Sebastien and Lewis did not last long. Sebastien was comprehensively bowled for one by Mohammed while Lewis could not beat Emrit’s throw from the square-leg fence attempting two runs off the left-arm spinner. Jaggernauth, for the second time, failed to hold on to a return chance from Shallow, when the batsman was on 55, who subsequently smacked Mohammed out of the ground. But Mohammed would have the last laugh as, the following delivery, bowled Shallow as he tried a big on-drive. Butler looked assured at the crease, unlike fellow tailenders Kenroy Peters (two) and Dennis George (duck), who were both trapped leg-before on the backfoot to Mohammed.