NELSON, New Zealand, CMC – Contrasting half-centuries from the left-handed pair of Nicholas Pooran and Shayne Moseley were undermined by a career-best spell from left-arm spinner Rachin Ravindra that sent West Indies A tumbling to a 101-run defeat against New Zealand A in the second “Test” yesterday.
Pooran, the Windies A captain for this match, smashed a run-a-ball, career-best 69 and Moseley followed up his first innings hundred with a resolute 54 before the visitors were bowled out for 256 in their second innings about 25 minutes after tea on the final day of the four-day, first-class match at Saxton Oval.
Fabian Allen made 35 and opener Brandon King added 32, but none of the other West Indies A batsmen reached 20 and none of them batted with the aplomb to make a victory target of 358 seem academic – and Ravindra blew through the innings to end with six for 89 from 19.3 overs.
Left-hander Jayden Seales was bowled for one, charging down the pitch, swinging and missing a flighted delivery from Ravindra to formalise the result in the fifth over after tea and symbolise the ineffectiveness of the Windies A approach to the challenge of batting through the day to save the match.
The result meant that the Caribbean side were swept in the two-match series, after they crashed to an innings and 143 runs defeat in the first “Test”, which ended two Saturdays ago at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.
The defeat also came hours after the West Indies international team, under Jason Holder, were crushed by an innings and 12 runs in the second Test against New Zealand, led by Tom Latham, in the country’s capital city of Wellington.
The Windies international side were also swept in their two-match series on another gut-wrenching day for the sport in the Caribbean.
West Indies A had an early indication that the battle for survival may turn out to be an difficult task, when Kyle Mayers was dismissed in the fourth over of the day, after adding only four to his overnight score.
The left-hander, strangely promoted to open the batting the previous day, was caught behind off first innings wrecker-in-chief Doug Bracewell for 19, playing defensively forward to a delivery of no merit angled across him.
Moseley joined Brandon King and for a little more than an hour they defied the New Zealanders’ attack to carry Windies A past 50.
The pair put on 43 for the second wicket, but King was bowled by Ravindra, playing defensively forward to a faster delivery in the final half-hour before lunch, which came with the visitors on 101 for two.
Rovman Powell became Ravindra’s second scalp in the third over after the interval, when he miscued an ill-advised lofted drive and was caught at long-off for 18.
West Indies A were 106 for three, but Pooran launched a counter-offensive, putting on 53 for the fourth wicket with Moseley, whose 50 came off 115 balls with a lofted straight drive off Michael Bracewell’s innocuous off-spin for four.
Pooran unleased a couple of square drives for boundaries off Ravindra that carried Windies A past 150 and brought up the 50 partnership respectively.
But Moseley, moving down the pitch, miscued a lofted drive and was caught at long-on to usher the drinks break with the Caribbean side 159 for four.
Pooran continued to take the fight to Blackcaps reserves bowling attack, putting on 77 with Allen and seemed set to carry his side to safety, when he reached his 50 from 56 balls, turning Ravindra through mid-wicket for a single.
But Pooran left the rest of the batting exposed and triggered a collapse, when he was caught behind off Ravindra from a top-edged cut in the final 15 minutes before tea.
West Indies A conceded two more scalps for 12 runs in the space of 14 balls before they reached the break on 248 for seven.
Allen edged a flat-footed drive and was caught behind off Blair Tickner three balls later, and Keemo Paul edged a loose drive off Ravindra and was caught behind for four, giving wicketkeeper Cam Fletcher his fourth catch of the innings.
After tea, there was little resistance from the rest of the batting before Ravindra, also a century-maker in the match, gave proof of his all-round prowess by taking two of the last three wickets to bring the match to an end.
