ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – Veerasammy Permaul wrecked Jamaica Scorpions’ batting for the second time in the match with a career-best spell and set up five-time defending champions Guyana Jaguars for an emphatic seven-wicket win in the 2019-20 West Indies Championship on Saturday.
The diminutive left-arm spinner captured 8-18 from 11.4 overs to propel the Jaguars to a morale-boosting victory, after they bowled out the Scorpions in the final hour before the scheduled close on the third day of sixth-round matches in the Championship, and quickly knocked off a modest target.
At the same time, three wickets – two to West Indies pacer Kemar Roach – pressed Barbados Pride’s claims for a fifth successive win, after their batsmen, led by first-innings century-maker Kyle Mayers, set Windward Islands Volcanoes 399 for victory.
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – A pugnacious hundred from Kyle Mayers pulled current leaders Barbados Pride out of trouble against Windward Islands Volcanoes in the West Indies Championship on Thursday.
The left-handed all-rounder went on the rampage against his former teammates and was undefeated on 121 – his second first-class hundred – at the close on the first day of sixth-round matches in the Championship.
At the same time, a destructive spell from long-serving left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul crippled Jamaica Scorpions and gave five-time defending champions Guyana Jaguars an early hold on their contest.
Kusal Mendis and Avishka Fernando dovetailed beautifully through the middle overs, producing an effortless 239-run third-wicket partnership that became the bedrock of Sri Lanka's 345 for 8, and by extension, their series-sealing 161-run victory over West Indies. Mendis hit a run-a-ball 119 and Fernando made 127 off 123 deliveries, as they punished West Indies' indiscipline with the ball and sloppiness in the field, rescuing Sri Lanka from a scoreline of 9 for 2 in the third over.
Although the surface clearly suited batting, and a stiff wind across the ground made things difficult for bowlers, a target of 346 was always going to be daunting. And West Indies never really had the measure of this chase. There was a mildly positive 64-run opening stand, as well as a customary Shai Hope fifty, but at no stage did they manage to put Sri Lanka under pressure.
What will especially lift the hosts is that it was their wristspinners that sewed this game up - Wanindu Hasaranga and Lakshan Sandakan taking three wickets apiece through the middle overs to send West Indies into a nosedive. Sandakan claimed the final wicket in the 40th over to finish with figures of 3 for 57. Hasaranga was more impressive, returning 3 for 30 from his 10. Each of his wickets came via the googly, which West Indies' batsmen repeatedly failed to pick.
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – More intense rivalries are expected with the chasing teams eager to close the gap before it’s too late, when the second half of the 2019-20 West Indies Championship begins on Thursday.
The Championship resumes following a two-week break with chart-toppers Barbados Pride on 84.2 points – 23.4 clear of nearest rivals and five-time defending champions Guyana Jaguars, heading into the sixth of 10 rounds in the four-day competition.
With a maximum of 24 points available to each side in every round (eight first innings points and four points for wickets taken by pace bowlers, plus 12 points for an outright winner), the jockeying for positions that took place over the first half of the Championship is expected to intensify over the coming weeks.
West Indies suffered an upset against Pakistan as they went under by eight wickets in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup match on Wednesday night at the Munaka Oval in Canberra. Batting first on a good pitch, the 2016 champions lost three early wickets and never quite recovered enough to post a big target.
West Indies are now in third position in Group B on two points from two matches, while Pakistan earned their first points in their first match – and are second to England, who beat Thailand earlier in the day at the same venue.
MATCH SCORES: West Indies 124-7 off 20 overs (Stafanie Taylor 43, Shemaine Campbelle 43) Pakistan 127-2 off 18.2 off overs (Bismah Maroof 38 not out, Javeria Khan 35)
