Hetmyer, Paul outshine Edwards to give leaders fourth straight victory; Khan bowls Red Force to first win
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – Scintillating batting – led by Kirk Edwards and Shimron Hetmyer – and destructive bowling – epitomized by Imran Khan and Keemo Paul – marked play in the West Indies Championship on Sunday, as leaders Guyana Jaguars and Trinidad & Tobago Red Force wrapped up victory.
The WINDIES pair of Paul and Hetmyer topped the first hundred Edwards has scored on the West Indies first-class scene in five years to propel the Jags to an eight-wicket victory at the Guyana National Stadium for their fourth win on the trot and season sweep of this opponent on the final day of fourth-round matches.
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At the other end of the Caribbean archipelago – leg-spinner Khan bowled Red Force to their first victory of the season and piled further pressure on Jamaica Scorpions with a 157-run victory at Sabina Park.
Barbados Pride and Leeward Islands Hurricanes – the other two teams in the Championship – have had their fourth-round contest rescheduled to March.
Jaguars (454-9 dec & 121-2) beat Volcanoes (209 & 361) by eight wickets in Providence, Guyana
Starting the day on 167 for three and needing a huge effort to avoid defeat, the Volcanoes’ batting was propped up by Edwards’ ninth first-class hundred of 139 and a defiant 67 from Denis Smith.
The 34-year-old Edwards, the Barbados-born Volcanoes captain and former WINDIES vice-captain, struck 21 fours and two sixes from 186 balls in a shade over three hours at the crease for his first hundred in the Professional Cricket League era of the Championship.
He extended his overnight fourth-wicket stand with Kavem Hodge to 64 before adding a further 83 with Smith for the sixth wicket and becoming one of three scalps on the day for Paul, whose figures of 4-72 from 18 overs earned him a match haul of 10-129.
Smith collected eight boundaries from 96 balls in just over 2 ¼ hours of batting and carried the innings before he was run out in the first hour after lunch to bring an end to the Volcanoes’ resistance.
Jaguars were set back early in their run chase, when Josh Thomas bowled left-handed opener Trevon Griffith for 12.
But fellow left-hander Hetmyer entertained with five fours and five sixes in 61 off 29 balls before he was dismissed with just five required for victory.
Jaguars wicketkeeper/batsman Anthony Bramble was named Player-of-the-Match for his first innings hundred and six catches behind the stumps.
Red Force (203 & 233) beat Scorpions (112 & 167) by 157 runs in Kingston, Jamaica
Khan tore through the bottom half of the Scorpions batting, ending with 5-59 from 24 overs, and left-arm spinner Khary Pierre finished with 3-29 from 18 overs to make him a shoo-in for the Player-of-the-Match award, as the result was welcomed relief for Red Force after they lost their first two matches of the season.
After the Scorpions resumed from their overnight total of 108 for five, Test left-hander Assad Fudadin made 35 and was the only batsman that showed prolonged defiance before the last four wickets fell for 20 in the space of 61 balls, leaving the home team to ponder their third straight defeat of the season.
-ENDS-
RESULTS OF MATCHES
ROUND 1
Thursday, December 6 to Sunday, December 9
Volcanoes lost to Jaguars by 125 runs – Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St. Lucia
Pride lost to Hurricanes by 34 runs – Three Ws Oval, Barbados
ROUND 2
Thursday, December 13 to Sunday, December 16
Pride beat Scorpions by 41 runs – Three Ws Oval
Hurricanes lost to Jaguars by 9 wickets – Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua
Red Force lost to Volcanoes by 76 runs – Brian Lara Cricket Academy
ROUND 3
Friday, January 4 to Monday, January 7
Scorpions lost to Volcanoes by 5 wickets – Sabina Park, Jamaica
Red Force lost to Hurricanes by 245 runs – Brian Lara Cricket Academy
Pride lost to Jaguars by 6 wickets – Kensington Oval, Barbados
ROUND 4
Thursday, January 10 to Sunday, January 13
Scorpions lost to Red Force by 157 runs – Sabina Park
Jaguars beat Volcanoes by eight wickets – Guyana National Stadium, Guyana
SCHEDULE OF MATCHES
(All matches start at 10 am daily, except where indicated)
ROUND 1
Thursday, March 14 to Sunday, March 17
Red Force vs Scorpions – Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad
ROUND 4
Thursday, March 14 to Sunday, March 17
Hurricanes vs Pride – Vivian Richards Cricket Ground
ROUND 5
Thursday, January 17 to Sunday, January 20
Jaguars vs Hurricanes – Guyana National Stadium (9:30 am start daily)
Red Force vs Pride – Brian Lara Cricket Academy (2 pm start daily)
Volcanoes vs Scorpions – National Cricket Stadium, Grenada
ROUND 6
Thursday, January 31 to Sunday, February 3
Hurricanes vs Scorpions – Warner Park, St. Kitts (2 pm start daily)
Red Force vs Jaguars – Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad
Pride vs Volcanoes – Kensington Oval
ROUND 7
Thursday, February 7 to Sunday, February 10
Jaguars vs Scorpions – Guyana National Stadium
Pride vs Red Force – Kensington Oval
Volcanoes vs Hurricanes – Windsor Park, Dominica
ROUND 8
Thursday, February 21 to Sunday, February 24
Hurricanes vs Red Force – Warner Park
Scorpions vs Jaguars – Sabina Park
Volcanoes vs Pride – Arnos Vale Sports Complex, St. Vincent
ROUND 9
Thursday, February 28 to Sunday, March 3
Scorpions vs Hurricanes – Sabina Park
Jaguars vs Pride – Guyana National Stadium
Volcanoes vs Red Force – Arnos Vale Sports Complex
ROUND 10
Thursday, March 7 to Sunday, March 10
Scorpions vs Pride – Sabina Park
Jaguars vs Red Force – Guyana National Stadium (2 pm start daily)
Hurricanes vs Volcanoes – Vivian Richards Cricket Ground
-CWI
