Hope half-century holds off rampaging Pride

COUVA, Trinidad, CMC – Roston Chase and Kevin Stoute completed half-centuries to put Barbados Pride in a strong position but fellow Barbadian Kyle Hope stroked one of his own to help Trinidad and Tobago Red Force fight back on day two of their ninth round encounter here yesterday.

Roston Chase
Roston Chase

Resuming from their overnight 220 for two, Pride were dismissed for 396 in their first innings, 15 minutes before tea at the National Cricket Centre.

Captain and opener Kraigg Brathwaite, unbeaten on the start on 105, made 123 while Stoute weighed in with 66 and the in-form Chase, 59.

Left-arm spinner Yannick Ottley (2-10) along with seamer Rayad Emrit (2-68) and leg-spinner Imran Khan (2-129) all picked up two wickets apiece.

In reply, Hope did the damage against his former team, gathering an attractive, unbeaten 61 to guide Red Force to the close on 111 for three.

Kevin Stoute
Kevin Stoute

Pride struck early when Test seamer Kemar Roach had Imran Khan caught at third slip by Shai Hope for 12 at 18 for one in the fifth over.

However, Hope – whose younger brother Shai Hope is a fixture in the Pride squad – then partnered with Yannic Cariah in adding 65 for the second wicket.

The right-hander has so far 109 deliveries in just over 2-1/2 hours at the crease and counted 11 boundaries while Cariah, a left-hander, spent nearly an hour-and-a-half over nine before he was leg before wicket to part-time off-spinner Chase.

Hope and Narsingh Deonarine (14) seemed to be taking Red Force to the close in a 24-run third wicket stand when the left-handed Deonarine edged a drive at left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican and was taken at slip by Jonathan Carter, six overs before the end.

Earlier, Brathwaite passed 600 runs for the Regional four-day season as he added 18 to his overnight score before becoming the second wicket of the morning, caught at cover by captain Jason Mohammed off Emrit at 254 for four.

Shamarh Brooks had earlier perished in the morning’s second over, leg before wicket on the back foot to Imran Khan after adding just one to his overnight 12.

Wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich (5) and Jonathan Carter (6) both fell cheaply as Pride slumped to 276 for six but Stoute and Chase then combined in a 70-run, seventh wicket partnership to rescue the innings. Stoute struck six fours in knock requiring just 98 balls while Chase faced 108 balls and counted seven fours and a six. When Chase eventually fell to a catch at mid-off by Jon-Ross Jagessar off off-spinner Mohammed, Stoute added a further 40 for the eighth wicket with Roach (10) to further frustrate Red Force.