Scorpions’ Brown in the groove against Hurricanes
Jamaica Scorpions batsman Carlos Brown says he is looking to cash in on Thursday after leading the hosts’ fightback on the rain-affected opening day of their West Indies Championship match against Leeward Islands Hurricanes at Sabina Park.
The Scorpions were 173-6 at the close of play on Wednesday after the Hurricanes won the toss and asked them to bat first. Brown is on 68 not out, his career best in first-class cricket, while Abhijai Mansingh is unbeaten on 15.
Pacer Jeremiah Louis made use of the early movement on offer to grab 3-34, while left-arm seamer Colin Archibald had 2-23.
However, rain interrupted play approximately 10 minutes before the scheduled tea break at 2:40 pm and wiped out almost the entire last session.
When the cricketers returned to the field shortly after 5:00 pm only a few minutes of play were possible before match officials called an end to the day because sections of the outfield were deemed slippery and dangerous.
Brown, 24, said he is focused on starting afresh when play resumes.
“Normally, on a day-two wicket at Sabina Park, it’s [favourable] to the batter so I just need to start over and dig in again. Early on [Wednesday] the pitch was a little bit slow and tacky [causing the ball to grip]… and the ball was seaming around,” he told journalists.
He said he was pleased to build an innings of substance after previously being dismissed after positive starts.
“I’ve been getting starts all season and everyone keeps on telling me to capitalise on these starts. So I backed my plans, and once I backed my plans I knew I’d execute right,” said Brown.
The 28-year-old Louis was pleased with his effort for the Hurricanes.
“I think I did the simple things for a long enough period of time. I also think our team utilised the moisture that was in the wicket early up and we took full advantage of it,” he said.
“It was very vital [to bowl first] because the wicket is very flat at the moment, and I think we did very well in the first session. We’ll take that score pretty much any day, even though there was the delay with the rain,” Louis continued.
The Hurricanes, who entered the match with three straight wins under their belt, won the toss and asked the Scorpions to bat first in sunny morning conditions.
The visitors made full use of the surface, which offered lateral movement for the seam and swing bowlers as the Scorpions suffered a top-order collapse, leaving them on 59-5.
The energetic Louis took the first three wickets. He first bowled a delivery that swerved into left-hander Kirk McKenzie and kissed the edge through to wicketkeeper Jahmar Hamilton. The West Indies Test left hander made eight.
The sidelined West Indies Test batsman Jermaine Blackwood, who has had a wretched time with the bat this season, made another duck when he pushed at a delivery outside off stump and edged to Justin Greaves at second slip.
Leroy Lugg (10) played with heavy hands with a forward push and went to the same combination of Louis and Greaves to leave the Scorpions at 39-3.
Captain Brandon King, who made a pair of half centuries in the Scorpions’ victory over West Indies Academy last week, was the next man to the crease. He began with two crisp boundaries but soon flicked a delivery from Archibald in the air and was caught forward of square by West Indies Under-19 sensation Jewel Andrew.
Peat Salmon, another batting standout from last week, played at a wide Archibald delivery and gifted a catch to the physically imposing Rahkeem Cornwall at first slip.
Wicketkeeper batsman Romaine Morris, the Scorpions top run scorer, counterpunched with an enterprising 42 and shared in a 66-run sixth-wicket stand with Brown. But the left-hander Morris tried to hit across the line to off-spinner once too often and was bowled by the wily Cornwall.
Brown, utilising a compact defence and also displaying his talent with a number of well-timed drives, carried on to score his first half century at the regional four-day level. Brown, who hit 10 fours from 137 balls, and the more subdued Mansingh have added 48 runs for the seventh wicket.