Red Force take honours as Hurricanes stumble

Left-handed opener Jeremy Solozano.
Left-handed opener Jeremy Solozano.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad,  CMC – Trinidad and Tobago Red Force produced a steady batting effort and an incisive burst with the ball late on, to take honours on the opening day of their eighth round match against Leeward Islands Hurricanes.

Opting to bat first at Queen’s Park Oval on Thursday, the hosts got up to 221 all out in their first innings with a number of players getting starts but failing to carry on.

Lower order batsman Tion Webster top-scored with 38, opener Jeremy Solozano hit 37, while tailender Khary Pierre with 29 and captain Denesh Ramdin, 26, provided support.

Fast bowler Jeremiah Louis (4-45) and Sheno Berridge (4-72) were the chief wicket-takers with four wickets apiece.

At the close, Hurricanes were tottering on 36 for three, still requiring a further 185 runs to overhaul their target.

Among those already dismissed was captain and West Indies opener, Kieran Powell who counted three boundaries in 15.

Red Force had earlier recovered from losing Amir Jangoo without scoring with a single run on the board, to make good progress courtesy of three half-century stands.

First, Solozano put on 54 in a second wicket stand with Yannic Cariah who made 14, before Ramdin and Ewart Nicholson (21) added a further 50 for the fourth wicket.

When two wickets perished for seven runs in the space of 26 deliveries, Webster and Steven Katwaroo (21) put on 58 for the sixth wicket to revive the innings from 115 for five.

Webster struck seven fours in a 69-ball before he was eighth out in a slide that saw three wickets fall for four runs in 18 balls, as Red Force slipped to 177 for eight.

Pierre then arrived to lash four boundaries in a 42-ball innings, anchoring a 39-run ninth wicket partnership with Daniel St Clair (11).