Thomas hundred completes Pride misery

Devon Thomas’s (left) hundred, trumped that of Jonathan Carter’s as the Leeward Islands Hurricanes defeated the Barbados Pride in the fifth place playoff yesterday.

NORTH SOUND, Antigua, CMC – Devon Thomas’s hundred trumped Jonathan Carter’s as Barbados Pride’s already wretched Regional Super50 Cup campaign finished on the same miserable note here yesterday with a seven-wicket defeat to Leeward Islands Hurricanes in the fifth place match.

Choosing to bat first at the Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium, Pride appeared to have the upper hand when the left-handed Carter struck exactly 100 off 121 balls and Shai Hope carved out 85 off 106 deliveries to get them up to 265 for seven off their 50 overs.

However, opting to open the batting, Thomas blasted a stroke-filled 117 off 130 deliveries as Hurricanes raced to their target with nine balls to spare.

Keacy Carty, who got three figures against Pride in the preliminary round, finished unbeaten on 50 from 72 balls while captain Jahmar Hamilton smashed 37 not out off 25 deliveries and Nitish Kumar, 29. The result compounded Pride’s nightmare showing in the preliminary round when they lost four of their five encounters to finish fifth in the six-team competition, only above Hurricanes.

For the winners, the victory erased some of the disappointment of a campaign that yielded a wingle win – over Pride.

Hope provided the early momentum for Pride, adding 35 for the second wicket with older brother Kyle Hope (9) before putting on a crucial 124 for the third wicket with Carter.

The right-handed Hope, in his third innings of the tournament, crunched eight fours and two sixes while veteran Carter posted an identical boundary count en route to his third List A hundred.

Both fell to fast bowler Quinton Boatswain (3-68) 54 balls apart but not before Carter had put on a further 43 for the fourth wicket with all-rounder Roston Chase (21).

Fast bowler Alzarri Joseph finished with three for 44. In reply, four successive half-century stands propelled Hurricanes to their target with Thomas at the heart of three of them. First, he put on 58 off 56 balls for the first wicket with Kieran Powell (21), 63 for the second with Kumar and 84 for the third with Carty.

All told, Thomas belted nine fours and three sixes before carving captain Jason Holder to cover in the 40th over, after reaching his third List A hundred.

Carty, who punched two fours and a six and Hamilton, who hammered three sixes, then staged a 65-run, unbroken fourth wicket stand to put Hurricanes over the line.