JAMAICA Scorpions proved they were ready for the fight late against TT Red Force on day one of their West Indies Four-Day Championship match as a 50-run partnership between Javelle Glenn and Abhijah Mansingh guided the Jamaican franchise to 208/6 up to press time on April 2.
At the dinner break at 5.20 pm, the Scorpions were struggling to reach 200 batting first at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba in the penultimate round of the competition.
Two early wickets from Red Force pacer Joshua James and two more from the prolific left-arm spinner Khary Pierre left Scorpions on 158/6.
[caption id="attachment_1147391" align="alignnone" width="1024"] TT Red Force’s Cephas Cooper braces as Jamaica’s Jermaine Blackwood plays a shot during the West Indies four day championships at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba, on April 2, 2025.[/caption]
Despite the flurry of wickets falling in the second session of play, the Scorpions played confidently in the final session.
Red Force skipper Joshua Da Silva tried to keep the pressure on the Scorpions, starting the last session with his day’s best bowlers in James and Pierre. Glenn and Mansingh were ready for the task as the pair coped well against the Red Force bowlers.
Glenn and Mansingh did not only try to survive, as they found the boundaries regularly.
Up to press time at 7 pm, Glenn was 66 not out with five fours and two sixes and Mansingh was on 23 with three fours. The batsmen had already put on 57 unbroken runs for the seventh wicket.
Coming into the contest a lot would have depended on James with other pacers Jayden Seales and Anderson Phillip unavailable because of English county cricket commitments.
[caption id="attachment_1147393" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Jamaica’s Jermaine Blackwood plays a shot against the TT Red Force during their West Indies four day championship match, on April 2, at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba.[/caption]
James seemed ready for the responsibility, striking twice in the first 30 minutes of play in the day/night match. He first removed John Campbell for two and then sent Brandon King back to the pavilion for duck.
Red Force controlled the first hour of play as Scorpions crawled to 9/2 after eight overs.
Jermaine Blackwood and Kirk McKenzie avoided any further damage, progressing to 43/2 when rain stopped play for 30 minutes. During the rain delay the tea break was taken.
Shortly after the resumption, pacer Terrance Hinds had the chance to dismiss Blackwood when he was on 26. However, Hinds could not hold on to a sharp caught and bowled opportunity.
McKenzie and Blackwood were not shy at the crease after the rain interruption. The batsmen played their shots against Hinds and Shannon Gabriel, the two pacers replacing Phillip and Seales in the starting XI.
Off spinner Bryan Charles was also on the receiving end of boundaries, including a six over long on by McKenzie.
With the Scorpions approaching 100, Blackwood got to his 50 with a four through covers as he punished Charles for bowling short
