Report and Photography by Akeem Greene in Trinidad
Led by opening pair Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Chandrapaul Hemraj, Guyana Harpy Eagles have made a solid response to Jamaica Scorpions’ 393, reaching 213-1 at stumps on day two of their Cricket West Indies Regional Four-Day match at Diego Martin Sporting Complex, Trinidad.
Chanderpaul is four runs away from a second consecutive hundred, while Tevin Imlach is looking rock solid on 38*. The tale of the afternoon session was Hemraj, who fluffed a gift-wrapped century after some vintage drives and thumping pulls on his way to 78.
Hemraj lived a charmed life throughout the innings and the left-hander seemed intent on making Scorpions pay for their lapses in the field on a deck tailor-made for batting.
There was one flick off the hip which raced through mid-wicket and got the appreciation of the fans with shouts of “shot boy, shot boy”. Another stupendous front-foot drive, drilled through cover, had the fielder’s only movement being for retrieval.
The numerous picture-perfect shots ended in the penultimate over before the tea interval when pacer Nicholson Gordon induced Hemraj into an edge to the keeper Aldaine Thomas.
Hemraj struck 15 fours and one six from his 87 balls and shared an opening stand of 112 in 31 overs with Chanderpaul.
More runs for ‘Tage’
West Indies Test team has been in search of a stable opening partner for Kraigg Brathwaite for quite a while, and Chanderpaul’s hands are just creeping up with a placard saying ‘pick me’.
Coming off a marathon 140* and a match-winning 23* in the previous match against a quality Barbados Pride outfit, Chanderpaul has laid a solid platform for a fourth First-Class century.
Though facing 228 balls for his 96*, there has been a deliberate effort by him to be more positive as there is greater intent on seeking scoring opportunities. He has struck 16 fours thus far.
It could be linked to the fact that this is another must-win match for the Eagles if they are to stay in contention for the title.
Chanderpaul and Imlach, who batted a three, despite doing the gloveman duties, have thus added 111 runs for the second wicket.
Aldaine Thomas goes big
Unlike his senior Jermaine Blackwood, who grafted his way to an eighth First-Class century on day one, Thomas was quite the opposite as he went the expansive route with an array of shots to reach his maiden First-Class ton.
The appetite for the big shots was present after he reached stumps 35 from 40 balls on day one and then raced to his century from 98 balls, compliments of 16 fours and two maximums.
Some loose bowling aided the morning run-fest and Thomas was quite severe on young Demetri Cameron, who returned 2-103 off 17 overs.
In just his second match at this level, Cameron was asked to do the hard yards in an aggressive spell, but the placid pitch and relatively small boundaries did not help his cause.
After a string of bouncers, he managed to dislodge Jamie Marchant via a superb diving catch down the leg side by wicketkeeper Imlach. Merchant too was a pain to the Eagles as he cracked 39 (6x4s; 2x6s) from 36 balls.
After Blackwood added four to his overnight total of 110, Thomas was the driving force behind the Scorpions scoring 111 runs in 19.3 overs for the loss of their final four wickets.
Thomas and Blackwood had a 55-run stand, most of which was compiled on day one, but it was a stand of 76 with Merchant, more known for his off-spin, which frustrated the Eagles.
Veerasammy Permaul (3-96 off 36.3 overs) brought the innings to a close when he outfoxed Thomas with a flighted delivery and Imlach completed the stumping. Gudakesh Motie (2-39) and Kevin Sinclair (2-74) were also among the wickets.
Below are the summarised scores from the other games
At Brian Lara Cricket Academy: Trinidad and Tobago Red Force 133 (Imran Khan 29, Terrance Hinds 25, Joshua DaSilva 23; Jomel Warrican 3-21, Akeem Jordan 2-17, Ramon Simmonds 2-24, Justin Greaves 2-26) and 51-3 (Keagan Simmons 26* Jeremy Solozano 14; Simmonds 1-2, Greaves 1-3, Roston Chase 1-6) trail Barbados Pride 294 (Raymon Reifer 79, Greaves 50, Jonathan Carter 41, Jordan 31; Hinds 5-32, Imran Khan 2-60) by 110 runs.
At Queen’s Park Oval: Leeward Hurricanes: 333 (Collin Archibald 106*, Jahmar Hamilton 52, Daniel Doram 43, Terance Ward 30; Preston McSween 5-92, Kenneth Dember 2-77) and 62-2 (Montcin Hodge 24, Kieran Powell 18, Ross Powell 14*; McSween 1-7, Josh Thomas 1-12) lead Windward Volcanoes 173 (Keron Cottoy 73*, Devon Smith 35; Rahkeem Cornwall 5-61, Jeremiah Louis 3-26) by 224 runs.
