The Jamaica Scorpions have found themselves in yet another precarious position after they were dominated by visitors Guyana Harpy Eagles on day two of their West Indies Championship encounter at Sabina Park yesterday.
When play begins at 10 a.m., the Scorpions will resume on 153 for nine. With one wicket to fall, they are still 271 runs behind the Harpy Eagles, who piled up a mammoth 424 all out in their first innings.
The Guyanese franchise was keen to make full first use of the Sabina Park surface as the intention was to bat just once after resuming on 278 for seven.
Overnight centurion Kemol Savory on 127 and captain Tevin Imlach on 33 continued where they left off the day before and took the score to 342 before Savory was caught off the bowling of Peat Salmon for a masterful 155, which included 16 fours and three sixes.
Imlach also wanted to get three figures and he, too, brought up his century and would remain unbeaten on 101 after facing 169 balls and hitting 11 fours and two sixes.
Nial Smith chipped in with 33 as the Harpy Eagles posted a formidable 400-plus score despite four wickets for pacer Ojay Shields and three for Peat Salmon.
The Scorpions’ reply could not have started any worse as opener Carlos Brown stroked a four but fell for the same score as pacer Isai Thorne sent him back along with his opening partner, Javaughn Buchanan, for six, at 16 for two.
Four runs later, Kirk McKenzie fell to pacer Ronaldo Alimohamed for five before a mini recovery from captain Brandon King and Abhijai Mansingh.
They scored 48 before Mansingh was trapped in front by Veerasammy Permaul for 18.
King hit three boundaries in getting to a top score of 32, but when he went leg before wicket to Gudakesh Motie, things swiftly went downhill for the home side.
The left-arm spinner Permaul ran rings around the indisciplined Scorpions’ lower order and picked up five for 55 to stifle the home side’s response.
Romaine Morris on 21 and Marquino Mindley, 13, will resume on today’s third day.
At Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua: Windward Islands Volcanoes lead Cricket West Indies Academy by 169 runs with three second-innings wickets standing.
Volcanoes 162 all out and 165 for seven (Alick Athanaze 89, Kavem Hodge 41; Joshua Bishop 2-30, Ashmead Nedd 2-32). CWI Academy 158 all out (Carlon Bowen-Tuckett 36; Gilon Tyson 13.4-0-50-5).
At Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad: Leeward Islands Hurricanes trail Barbados Pride by 445 with nine first-innings wickets standing.
PRIDE 542 for nine declared (Kraigg Brathwaite 189, Roston Chase 127, Zachary McCaskie 101; Rahkeem Cornwall 33-3-132-5).
Hurricanes 97 for one (Keacy Carty 64 not out, Mikyle Louis 25 not out).
At Frank Worrell Field in Trinidad: Combined Campuses & Colleges Marooners trail Trinidad & Tobago Red Force by 482 runs with five first-innings wickets standing.
Red Force 591 for seven declared (Amir Jangoo 218, Jason Mohammed 157, Joshua Da Silva 79; Amari Goodridge 22-6-92-5).
Marooners 109 for five (Kamil Pooran 40; Terrance Hinds 2-15).