TRINIDAD and Tobago Red Force may now be out of the title race after suffering a massive 143-run defeat against Guyana Harpy Eagles in round three of the West Indies Four-Day Championships at Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba on Saturday.
Red Force were all out for 268 in their second innings after resuming the final day’s play on 106/3 chasing an improbable 412 for victory.
Darren Bravo fell just short of scoring his third century of the season when he was dismissed for 95 off 170 balls (11 fours). Red Force were 165/6 when Bravo fell before lower-order resistance prevented the home team from being embarrassed. Amir Jangoo, Uthman Muhammed and debutant Justin Manick combined to add 94 runs for the last two wickets. Jangoo ended on 50 not out, Muhammad hit 25 and Manick was the last man out for 22.
[caption id="attachment_1006363" align="alignnone" width="1024"] TT Red Force batsman Jyd Goolie plays a shot against the Guyana Harpy Eagles, during the CWI Four Day Championship match, on Saturday, at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba. - Lincoln Holder[/caption]
Left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul was the most successful bowler with 3/58 in 32 overs, fast bowler Ronsford Beaton took 2/53 and Keemo Paul picked up 2/73.
Before round three, Red Force were third on the six-team table, but have now dropped into the bottom half of the standings.
Acting Red Force coach Rayad Emrit knows winning the title may now be out of his team’s reach with two rounds remaining. “If we have two good results (at home) you never know what could happen in Guyana, so we are still optimistic. It is an uphill task now, but you never could tell.” The remaining matches will be played in Trinidad and Guyana.
Harpy Eagles showed resilience to score 324 in their first innings after being limited to 140/5 at one stage.
[caption id="attachment_1006364" align="alignnone" width="834"] Guyana Harpy Eagles' Nial Smith bowls against the TT Red Force, on Saturday, during the CWI Four Day match, at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba. - Lincoln Holder[/caption]
Emrit said, “We were in a good position to bowl them out for under 250. A couple chances went down and they got to 300 plus.”
Red Force could only muster 160 in the first innings, which handed Harpy Eagles a huge 164-run lead. Emrit said that left his team with too much ground to make up.
“(Scoring) 160 after they posted 300 plus was a bit difficult. You are always behind the eighth ball when they have that lead,” Emrit said.
Red Force will play Barbados Pride in their next match starting on Wednesday at the Queen’s Park Oval in St Clair.
Summarised Scores:
At Brian Lara Academy, Tarouba
GUYANA HARPY EAGLES 324 (Kevin Sinclair 69, Leon Johnson 62, Anthony Bramble 56; Imran Khan 4/80, Bryan Charles 3/85) and 247/6 dec. (Kemol Savory 101 not out, L Johnson 74; Darren Bravo 2/23, B Charles 2/60) vs TT RED FORCE 160 (Jason Mohammed 50, Ronsford Beaton 4/31, Veerasammy Permaul 3/36,
