A captain’s knock of 120 runs from Joshua Da Silva breathed new life into the Red Force innings on day two of their West Indies Championship round four fixture against West Indies Academy at Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua on March 6.
Da Silva and fellow overnight batsman Khary Pierre (42) rescued TT’s fragile day one score of 129/6 at stumps, and carried them to a solid total of 304 all out, just after lunch on the second day.
West Indies Academy, in reply, started positively but crumbled in the final session and finished the day’s play on 162/5, with two days still to go.
When Da Silva and Pierre resumed their knock, the pair went on to build an innings-repairing partnership of 81 runs. The academy, though, continued to rely on their fast bowlers to dismantle the Red Force batting line-up.
Da Silva showed early intent when he cut pacer Jediah Blades for four off the second delivery of the day. With seven painstaking runs coming from the next seven overs, the TT duo revived their attack by smashing fast bowler Nathan Edward for a boundary, each in the same over.
Pierre executed a neat, front foot drive for four off pacer Johann Layne in the next over and half-volleyed Edward for another boundary in the following. Right-arm fast bowler Kelvin Pitman was not spared as Da Silva also cut him for four.
With TT on 173/6, Pitman broke the partnership by having Pierre bowled while attempting a front foot drive. Da Silva took him to task a couple of overs later by smashing a boundary off the front foot and then cutting late for another in the same over.
New batsman Anderson Phillip scored eight before Blades had him bowled, to carry TT to 201/8. Da Silva and number nine batsman Bryan Charles put on a late cameo with the bat as they combined for a well-played 61 runs.
Da Silva swept pacer Joshua Bishop for a six then sliced him for four on the next ball. Later down in the innings, the TT skipper also pulled Layne for consecutive boundaries. Charles also got in on the action, striking Blades for back-to-back fours.
Not long after achieving his eighth first class century, Da Silva lost control and played back into the hands of bowler Layne to depart caught and bowled on a stellar 120.
At 262/9, Jayden Seales (29 not out) and Charles (23) put on an impressive 42-run last-wicket stance, which took Red Force just over the 300-run mark, before Seales was bowled by Pitman.
Layne’s (5/56) pace reaped dividends over the past day and a half while academy teammates Blades (2/69) and Pitman (2/76) snagged two scalps each, and Edward (1/55) one.
In their turn at the crease, academy openers Ackeem Auguste (49) and Justin Jagessar (seven) recorded a positive start. They put on 52 runs before Jagessar edged the ball into wicketkeeper Da Silva’s gloves off Anderson Phillip’s pace.
Before he departed, Auguste gave fast bowler Joshua James a rude introduction in the eighth over, smashing him for four boundaries. James was quickly taken out the TT bowling attack after conceding 17 runs from his first six balls.
