BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC – All-rounder Kyle Mayers celebrated his return to the Barbados side with a half-century as Pride trounced Jamaica Scorpions by 75 runs in their opening Super50 Cup outing here Thursday.
In a Group A, day/night fixture at Warner Park, Mayers stroked 52 off 53 balls while fellow left-hander Nicholas Kirton top-scored with 55 off 82 deliveries in his first game in a Pride shirt, as they reached 265 all out off their 50 overs.
Ashley Nurse chipped in with a typically robust 38 while captain Jonathan Carter gathered 33 and wicketkeeper Tevyn Walcott, 32.
Pride appeared well poised for a much bigger total at 199 for four in the 42nd over but off-spinner Andre McCarthy (4-41) and West Indies fast bowler Oshane Thomas (4-52) grabbed four wickets apiece to ensure the last six wickets perished for 66 runs.
In reply, McCarthy completed an excellent all-round effort when he fell just short of three figures with 95 but support only came from Aldaine Thomas with 41, as Scorpions tumbled to 190 all out in the 40th over.
Nurse, the West Indies off-spinner, did the damage with four for 26 while impressive fast bowler Chemar Holder snatched three for 37.
Choosing to bat, Pride found themselves on 37 for two in the eighth over despite Kjorn Ottley’s breezy 30-ball 25 as Oshane Thomas struck twice to remove both openers, Leniko Boucher going cheaply for eight in the eighth over.
However, successive half-century stands put Pride in control, Kirton adding 63 for the third wicket with Carter and a further 51 for the fourth with Mayers.
Carter struck three fours in a 45-ball knock before holing out to long on in the 24th over and Kirton, who featured for reigning champions CCC Marooners last season, counted five fours before departing at the end of the 34th over, whipping McCarthy to short mid-wicket.
Mayers, who spent the last several seasons with Windward Islands Volcanoes, then took charge, striking three fours and a brace of sixes as he engineered a 48-run, fifth wicket stand with Walcott, who also put on a further 45 for the sixth wicket with Nurse.
Walcott struck three fours in 38 balls while Nurse blasted three fours and sixes in a 21-ball cameo.
Facing a challenging run chase, Scorpions lost Assad Fudadin (10) and Jermaine Blackwood (12) cheaply to be 38 for two in the ninth over before Aldaine Thomas and McCarthy steadied the innings in a 43-run, third wicket stand.
McCarthy faced 83 balls and crunched six fours and five sixes while opener Thomas struck six fours off 53 deliveries.
Thomas’s departure, caught at deep backward square hooking at Holder in the 18th over, led to a slide that saw five wickets tumble for 46 runs, leaving Scorpions tottering on 127 for seven in the 28th over.
McCarthy found an ally in Marquino Mindley (seven not out) to post 55 for the eighth wicket but the stand only delayed the inevitable.
