Hurricanes harnessed

Barbados Pride defeated a game Leeward islands Hurricanes by 32 runs in their Colonial Medical Insurance Regional Super50 Cup clash at Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts tonight.

Batting first, the Pride overcame a shaky start that saw them slump to 80 for 5 by the 25th over, to score an eventual 255 in 49.5 overs.

The recovery was led by a maiden century from the 27-year-old left-handed all-rounder Kyle Mayers who was eighth out for a superb 113 made in 110 balls and decorated with nine fours and eight sixes. His main support came from wicketkeeper/batsman Tevyn Walcott who made 39 in a partnership of 117. For Mayers, it was his first century in List A cricket in his 51st match and his first ton in any form of senior regional cricket having debuted in 2011 for the Combined Campuses and Colleges.

Kyle Mayers made a century to propel the Pride to victory. (FP)

Walcott struck three sixes and one four in his fluent effort that took a mere 41 balls. Right-hand fast medium Sheeno Berridge was the most successful bowler claiming 4 for 38 from his 10 overs. He created considerable problems at the top of the Pride’s innings. Berridge was ably assisted in the attack by slow left-arm spinner Jason Campbell who collected 3 for 30 from five overs.

In response, the Hurricanes were in the game for much of the contest but kept losing wickets at inopportune times as Barbados’ spinners frequently made timely inroads. Their batting was led by discarded West Indies wicketkeeper/batsman Devon Thomas who made a polished 74-ball 50 but whose dismissal at the end of the 40th over bowled by off-spinner Ashley Nurse dented their hopes significantly.

Terrance Ward chipped in with 41 but slow left-arm spinner Joshua Bishop breached his defence and bowled him at the start of the 41st over and that basically spelt the end of the game for the hosts. Bishop who debuted in the Regional Super50 tournament in 2017 for the West Indies Under-19 team, bowled beautifully to claim 3 for 30 in his 10 overs. He also claimed the scalps of opener Montcin Hodge for 17 and left-handed batsman Amir Jangoo who was caught and bowled for 7. Nurse ably assisted the 19-year-old Bishop with 3 for 46 in his 10 overs.

As if to mimic the Pride’s innings, the Hurricanes had also got off to an equally poor start slumping to 112 for 5 by the 26th over, losing the wickets of international players Kieran Powell and Jahmar Hamilton for 30 and 20 to Nurse and batting all-rounder Nicholas Kirton respectively. The latter’s ten overs went for a mere 34 runs. But where Barbados Pride found a rescuer in Mayers, none of Hurricanes’ top-order batsmen carried on after getting starts and it was left to the last pair of Berridge and Yannick Leonard to get the 37 runs required when number 8 batsman Jeremiah Louis was ninth out for a run-a-ball 21 in the 47th over with the score on 219.

Any hopes of that last-wicket miracle was quickly snuffed out by medium-pacer Shamar Springer who had Leonard caught by Kirton in the 48th over for seven to give the Pride an important victory.

Earlier, having won the toss and decided to bat first, Barbados Pride first lost the aggressive Leniko Boucher for 23 in the seventh over and with the score 28 for 1. He struck five boundaries before he became Berridge’s first victim. Kjorn Ottley laboured at the other end for five in 28 balls before off-spinner Ward put him out of his misery.

Berridge also accounted for Kirton for a six-ball duck in the 14th over to leave the innings in dire straits at 36 for 3. Captain Jonathan Carter and Mayers then added 44 runs with Carter the aggressor, striking three fours and a six in his 34 made off 47 balls. But then Carter was bowled by Campbell to make it 80 for 4 on the fourth ball of the 25th over. Two balls later the burly Roshon Primus was struck in front to go lbw to Campbell for a two-ball duck. But at that stage the slide was halted by Mayers and Walcott.

And even though following their dismissals the rest of the batting capitulated rather swiftly, Mayers, who has spent the last few years playing for the Windward Islands Volcanoes, had done enough to get the Pride over the line.