BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Windward Islands Volcanoes stunned Barbados Pride by 22 runs here late Friday night to deal the title-holders their first defeat of the Regional Super50 competition.
Chasing a modest 202 in the day/night affair at Kensington Oval, Pride’s batting collapsed to leave them 179 all out in the 47th over, breaking their impressive four-game winning streak.
The defeat dislodged the hosts from the top of Group A, slipping them to second on 19 points with arch-rivals Trinidad and Tobago Red Force assuming first place on 20 points.
Pride and Red Force clash in a key fixture tonight at the same venue.
Electing to bat first, Volcanoes were dismissed for 201 in the final over with opener Johnson Charles top-scoring with 40, Kyle Mayers getting 37 and Kavem Hodge, 27.
They slumped to 35 for two in the eighth over after Devon Smith (19) and Andre Fletcher (10) departed cheaply but Charles and Kirk Edwards (12) rebuilt the innings with a 45-run third-wicket stand.
Johnson faced 54 balls and struck five fours but he and Edwards fell within eight runs of each other and when Roland Cato (15) holed out to the deep off off-spinner Ashley Nurse (2-35), Volcanoes were wilting on 113 for five in the 32nd over.
Barbadian Mayers then came to his side’s rescue, adding 32 runs for the sixth wicket with Hodge before putting on a further 34 runs for the seventh with captain Shane Shillingford (9).
He struck a pair of fours and one six off 48 balls before perishing via the run out route in the 46th over.
What should have been an uncomplicated run chase quickly turned messy when Pride lost four wickets inside the first 13 overs to slide to 43 for four as seamer Mayers (4-31) and left-arm spinner Hodge (2-31) both struck twice.
Amidst rain interruptions, Jason Holder, who top-scored with 49 and captain Kraigg Brathwaite, who made 32, posted 63 runs for the fifth wicket in what appeared to be a potential match-winning stand.
Brathwaite had faced 72 balls and counted two fours when he missed a swing at off-spinner Shillingford (3-27) and was lbw in the 28th over.
Holder followed six overs later, bowled by Shillingford, pushing forward, and off the very next ball Nurse was caught by Smith at slip, as Pride crashed to 125 for seven.
Pride found hope in a 47-run eighth wicket partnership between Carlos Brathwaite (24) and Dominic Drakes (23) but the stand required 63 deliveries and when Brathwaite drove left-arm speedster Delorn Johnson to Smith at point in the 44th, 30 runs were still needed from 36 balls with only two wickets in hand.
Fittingly, Mayers performed the final rites, knocking over Drakes and Chemar Holder (0) in the 47th over.
