BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Defending champions Barbados Pride logged their second straight victory and 11-time champions Trinidad & Tobago Red Force rebounded in emphatic fashion with an early finish in the Super50 Festival on Thursday here.
A record, unbroken, century fourth-wicket stand between left-hander Jonathan Carter and fellow international Roston Chase formalised a seven-wicket victory for Pride over Hampshire at the Three Ws Oval.
Four kilometres south at Kensington Oval, destructive bowling from Sunil Narine and explosive batting from Evin Lewis catapulted Red Force to a resounding, nine-wicket victory over Combined Campuses & Colleges Marooners even before the lights came on in their day/night encounter.
Pride 227-7 (50 overs) lost to Pride 231-3 (46.2 overs) by seven wickets
Carter was undefeated on 92, earning him the Player-of-the-Match award, and Chase was unbeaten on a career-best 85 – his second straight half-century – as Pride followed up their victory in the first match against Red Force with another solid performance.
The pair shared 168 – unbroken – to erase the mark of 136 previously set by left-handers Floyd Reifer and Ryan Hinds against Guyana 14 years ago at Bourda Oval in the Guyana capital of Georgetown.
Carter and Chase safely carried the Pride over the finish line with 22 balls remaining, after the home team stumbled to 68 for three in the 16th over.
Pride crossed the threshold, when Chase swung Christopher Wood over mid-wicket for the last of two sixes in his 93-ball knock which also included seven fours.
But Carter stole the headlines with a controlled 113-ball innings which also included seven fours and put the Pride firmly on track for victory.
Sent in, Hampshire stumbled to 29 for three in the 14th over before Zimbabwean Sean Ervine hit the top score of 63, Joe Weatherley made 51 and Lewis McManus got 47 to rally them to a respectable total.
WINDIES fast bowled Miguel Cummins claimed 3-27 from eight overs.
Hampshire had a less than ideal start, losing Calvin Dickinson, Thomas Alsop and their skipper Jimmy Adams cheaply inside the first 15 overs.
But Ervine and Weatherley got together for a 112-run, fourth-wicket stand that brought stability before they were dismissed in successive overs to leave Hampshire 147 for five in the 37th over.
Ervine struck five fours and a pair of sixes in 68 balls knock and Weatherly belted two sixes from 78 balls.
McManus led the rear-guard with three fours and three sixes in an entertaining, 42-ball innings putting on a valuable 48 for the sixth wicket with Bradley Taylor before becoming one of two wickets to fall to Cummins in successive overs late on.
Marooners 101 (25.4 overs) lost to Red Force 102-1 (11.2 overs)
Narine grabbed 5-10 from 7.4 overs to earn the Player-of-the-Match award, WINDIES left-arm fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell bagged 3-40 from five overs and left-arm spinner Khary Pierre supported with 2-15 from eight overs, as the Marooners were bundled out.
Veteran left-hander Ryan Hinds hit a boundary-studded 32 from 19 balls to lead the way for the Maroons and Khesan Ottley was the only double-figure contributor with 17.
They put on 53 for the fourth wicket, after Cottrell ripped out the Marooners top-order in an opening burst to leave them on 22 for three.
After Hinds was caught at short cover off Pierre in the 11th over, there was little substance from the rest of the batsmen in the composite side.
WINDIES white-ball opener Lewis hastened the finish with nine fours and four sixes in an unbeaten 70 from 42 balls, as Red Force rebounded from their opening loss to Pride to complete victory about 35 minutes before the scheduled interval between innings.
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