CAVE HILL, Barbados, CMC – Anthony Martin failed to trump fellow spinner Ryan Austin’s destructive spell that propelled Combined Campuses & Colleges to first innings points over Leeward Islands in the Regional 4-Day Tournament yesterday.
Off-spinner Austin undermined the Leewards’ batting, taking five wickets for 19 runs from 5.2 overs, as the visitors, sent in to bat on a pitch that held absolutely no terrors, were dismissed for 39 on the rain-affected, opening day of their second round match at the Three Ws Oval.
It was the lowest innings total in the modern R4T, which dates back to 1966, eclipsing Guyana after they were routed for 41 by Jamaica 26 years ago at Sabina Park.
Tonito Willett hit the top score of 20 and Leewards captain Gavin Williams made 10, and were the only batsmen to reach double figures, as the sub-regional side were bowled out about five minutes before the scheduled lunch interval.
But West Indies leg-spinner Martin grabbed four wickets for 32 runs from 19 overs, as CCC stumbled to 158 for nine when bad light stopped play five overs early about 50 minutes after the scheduled close.
Nkrumah Bonner led the way for the CCC with 43, Jason Holder was not out on 34, and Yannick Ottley made 20.
Gavin Tonge supported Martin with two for 22 from 11 overs and off-spinner Justin Athanaze snared two for 59 from 17 overs.
A forgettable day for Leewards marked the formal introduction of their West Indies fast bowling legend Curtly Ambrose starting in his new role of CCC bowling coach.
Ambrose may have felt conflicted when he watched his beloved Leewards capitulate at the hands of his new charges, whose fast bowlers started the rout before Austin spun into action to bring things to a tidy conclusion.
Willett, batting at No.5, spent close to 1 ¼ hours at the crease before he was caught at short mid-wicket off Austin to bring the Leewards innings to a close.
He and Martin added 13 for the last wicket – the best partnership of the innings – as Currency held four catches.
The Leewards slump began, when Shane Jeffers edged a beautiful out-swinger from Jason Dawes and was caught behind for one.
Fellow opener and West Indies left-hander Kieran Powell followed, when he was caught at extra cover off the same bowler for five, and three overs later, Orlando Peters was caught at extra cover for a duck essaying a drive off Kevin McClean.
When Williams was caught at gully for 10 fending a short ball from Holder, Leewards were 17 for four.
Austin, the leading bowler in the R4T two out of th
e last three years, made sure the Leewards failed to scri pt a comeback story, as the visitors lost their last six wickets for 17 in 46 deliveries.
CCC themselves ran into early trouble in between dodging two stoppages for rain lasting about 1 ½ hours, when they wobbled to 37 for three.
Tonge made the breakthrough, when he had CCC captain Romel Currency caught at second slip for six.
Willett bowled Raymon Reifer for four, when the left-hander offered no stroke to a delivery moving back before Athanaze trapped Ottley lbw playing back and across.
Bonner, a product of the West Indies High Performance Centre, played the central role in a minor recovery with Kyle Corbin and Floyd Reifer before Martin eased the Leewards’ agony, claiming all of his scalps in the final session, after CCC reached 69 for four at tea.
Athanaze had Corbin caught at mid-wicket for 13 before Martin had Floyd Reifer lbw for 13 playing across a full-length delivery, Chadwick Walton caught at slip for four, and Bonner also caught at slip before Tonge trapped Kevin McClean lbw for a duck, leaving the home team 120 for eight.
Austin joined Holder and put on 25 for the ninth wicket before Martin too, had him lbw for four about 15 minutes before umpires Michael Gough from England and Luther Kelly decided the light was too poor to continue.
Both sides fielded unchanged sides from their first round matches, which they both lost, leaving them rooted at the bottom of the table without a point.
CCC fell to a 172-run defeat against Trinidad & Tobago at this venue and Leewards crashed to a 234-run loss at the hands of Guyana at Windsor Park in Dominica.
Scoreboard
LEEWARD ISLANDS 1st Innings
S. Jeffers c wkpr Walton b Dawes 1
K. Powell c *Currency b Dawes 5
O. Peters c *Currency b McClean 0
*G. Williams c *Currency b Holder 0
T. Willett c R. Reifer b Austin 20
S. Liburd st Walton b Austin 0
+J. Hamilton b Austin 0
J. Athanaze c Ottley b Austin 1
G. Tonge b Holder 0
N. Bolan c *Currency b Austin 0
A. Martin not out 1
Extras (nb1) 1
TOTAL (all out, 22.2 overs) 39
Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-6, 3-11, 4-17, 5-22, 6-22, 7-24, 8-25, 9-
26
Bowling: McClean 6-4-3-1; Dawes 4-2-8-2 (nb1); Holder 7-2-9-2; Austin 5.2-0-19-5
COMBINED CAMPUSES & COLLEGES 1st Innings
*R. Currency c Liburd b Tonge 6
Y. Ottley lbw b Athanaze 20
R. Reifer b Willett 4
K. Corbin c Liburd b Athanaze 13
N. Bonner c *Williams b Martin 43
F. Reifer lbw b Martin 13
+C. Walton c *Williams b Martin 3
J. Holder not out 34
K. McClean lbw b Tonge 0
R. Austin lbw b Martin 4
J. Dawes not out 5
Extras (b1, lb3, nb7) 11
TOTAL (9 wkts, 60 overs) 158
Fall of wickets: 1-24, 2-33, 3-37, 4-60, 5-95, 6-101, 7-119, 8-120, 9-145
Bowling: Tonge 11-5-22-2; Bolan 5-0-28-0 (nb7); Willett 8-5-13-1; Athanaze 17-1-59-2; Martin 19-7-32-4
Position: CCC lead by 119 runs with one first innings wickets standing
Toss: CCC
Umpires: M. Gough, L. Kelly
Matchreferee: M. Jones
Reserve umpire: R. Brathwaite