Kantasingh, Emrit subdue Jamaica
JAMAICA opener Danza Hyatt struck a patient half-century, but Trinidad & Tobago left-arm spinner Kavesh Kantasingh grabbed five wickets to ensure the visitors closed a rain-affected day one in a strong position in the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) four-day match at Sabina Park in Kingston yesterday.
Kantasingh finished with 5-32 and medium pacer Rayad Emrit picked up 4-35, as Trinidad & Tobago’s bowlers dismissed a brittle Jamaican batting line-up for a meagre 147 yesterday — albeit under overcast conditions and on a Sabina pitch that offered plenty of encouragement for the bowlers.
The Trinidadians will resume this morning at 9:30 on 36-1 with opener Lendl Simmons unbeaten on 25 and left-hander Kjorn Ottley not out on seven.
Jamaica captain Tamar Lambert remarked that the pitch was “inconsistent” and added that if the bowlers get early wickets today his team can “get back into” the match.
Scores: Jamaica 147 (49.4 overs); Trinidad & Tobago 36-1 (10.3 overs).
The five-time defending champions were asked to take first strike in front of a small spattering of home supporters after Trinidad won the toss.
The opening pair of Hyatt and Brenton Parchment managed to post Jamaica’s maiden fifty opening stand of the season, despite a few close calls in the early going.
Both managed to see off the threatening Trinidad opening bowlers Shannon Gabriel and Marlon Richardson and pushed the score to 52, despite edges flying either through or over the slip cordon.
Parchment, who played relatively solid for 25, was the first to go when he played all around a swinging, full-pitched delivery from the impressive Emrit and was bowled.
The lanky 32-year-old Emrit, who got steep bounce and sufficient sideways movement from the pitch, also accounted for the next three wickets to fall during an expert display of accurate seam bowling.
Middle-order batsmen Nkrumah Bonner (8), Jermaine Blackwood (0) and captain Tamar Lambert (8) all went to the pacer, as the visitors seized the advantage.
Kantasingh, the left-arm orthodox slow bowler, extracted spin and bounce and varied those with his pin-point straight deliveries to dismantle the Jamaican lower order.
David Bernard (0) was smartly lured from his crease to be stumped by wicketkeeper and captain Denesh Ramdin, while both Carlton Baugh and Nikita Miller were trapped leg before wicket.
Hyatt, who survived a dropped chance in the slip region early in his innings, went lbw to a length delivery from the powerfully-built Gabriel — returning for second burst — that appeared to keep low.
The 30-year-old Hyatt hit 57 off 139 balls.
Kantasingh, 26, then mopped up the last two wickets to end with five in the innings. Kantansingh told the Jamaica Observer at the end of play that his team is in a “decent position”, but urged the batsmen to follow yesterday’s bowling performance with “a good showing” of their own.
In Trinidad’s reply, sidelined West Indies opening batsman Adrian Barath (3) was dismissed caught at point by Blackwood, loosely driving at a full delivery from pacer Andrew Richardson.
Despite the setback, Simmons played his natural attacking game and sounded a warning for the Jamaican bowlers when he lofted back-to-back sixes in leg-spinner Brown’s first over, which was unfinished as the umpires drew stumps due to bad light.
Danza Hyatt (left) ondrives during is innings of 57 on yesterday’s first day of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) four-day match at Sabina Park in Kingston. Trinidadian captain and wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin (centre) looks on, along with Lendl Simmons.