Akeem Jordan.
Spirited late spells from pacers Akeem Jordan and Keon Harding helped the Barbados Pride set up an interesting final day of play on Saturday against the Guyana Harpy Eagles in their first round West Indies Championship fixture at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium in Antigua.
Friday’s day four started with the Pride’s overnight pair of Shamarh Brooks and Keon Harding adding a further 54 runs to their overnight 105-3 before Harding was dismissed by Veerasammy Permaul for 24 in the 63rd over.
That wicket brought Nicholas Kirton to the crease but he did not last long before getting dismissed by Kevin Sinclair for two in the 66th over.
Brooks and new batsman Shemar Springer took the Pride to lunch without the loss of any more wickets, finishing 166-5 off 67 overs with Brooks on 47 and Springer yet to get off the mark.
Brooks brought up his fifty shortly after lunch but failed to kick on, being dismissed by Permaul for 51 with the score on 178 in the 71st over.
It quickly became 178-7 after Sinclair removed Akeem Jordan for a duck.
The Pride only batted with 10 as captain Shane Dowrich was unable to bat.
Springer made a crucial 35 not out as Chaim Holder (13) and Jair McAllister (2) both fell as the Pride ended their innings 220-9 off 91.2 overs, trailing Guyana by 151 runs.
Veerasammy Permaul finished with 4-53 from 26.2 overs while Kevin Sinclair took 3-65 in his 24 overs.
The beginning of the Harpy Eagles’ second innings was not ideal as Tevin Imlach was dismissed by Jair McAllister for a duck in just the second over with the score on three.
The tight opening spells by McAllister and Jordan paid dividends when Jordan trapped Kemol Savory in front for a duck in the seventh over to leave the Harpy Eagles 4-2.
First innings centurion Matthew Nandu was then joined by captain Leon Johnson and the pair added some respectability to the total with a 38-run partnership before Johnson became Keon Harding’s first victim for 12 in the 17th over.
Next it was Shemar Springer’s turn to get in on the fun, dismissing Anthony Bramble for one to leave the Guyanese reeling at 49-4 in the 20th over.
Kevin Sinclair also failed to significantly trouble the scorers before he became Harding’s second victim, falling for one in the 23rd over.
The 25th over saw wicket number six fall as Nandu was removed by Harding for a 77-ball 16.
Three overs later, Chanderpaul Hemraj went caught behind off the bowling of Akeem Jordan for 15.
Shamar Joseph became Jordan’s third wicket, going for four in the 32nd over to leave the score at 90-8.
The Harpy Eagles ended the day 91-8 off 33 overs with Permaul (11) and Nial Smith (0) at the crease. They have a lead of 242 runs heading into day four.
Scores: Guyana Harpy Eagles 371 off 121.1 overs (Matthew Nandu 126, Kevin Sinclair 43, Veerasammy Permaul 37, Jair McAllister 3-43, Chaim Holder 3-72) and 91-8 off 33 overs (Matthew Nandu 16, Akeem Jordan 3-18, Keon Harding 3-37)
Barbados Pride 220-9 off 91.2 overs (Sheyne Moseley 65, Shamarh Brooks 51, Shemar Springer 35*, Veerasammy Permaul 4-53, Kevin Sinclair 3-65, Shamar Joseph 2-33)
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ECB chief insists no decision made on Mott future
England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould has denied reports a decision has already been made on Matthew Mott's future as white-ball coach.
Mott's future has been called into question in the aftermath of England's failure to defend their T20 World Cup crown in the United States and West Indies, losing to India in the semi-finals.
Mott also oversaw England's calamitous 50-over World Cup campaign last year, as they lost six of their nine matches in India and crashed out in the group stage.
Reports earlier this week suggested the decision had already been made to dispense with Mott's services, with Eoin Morgan a contender to succeed him, though the former limited-overs captain has since said he has no interest in the role.
Asked by BBC Test Match Special if Mott's future had already been decided, Gould said: "That's not true. That's certainly not true.
"Matthew Mott is a really good guy and coach. He's got a great track record and it is the same with [captain] Jos [Buttler].
"We are always assessing options - that is what happens in high-performance sport, you are always assessing your options.
"You never want to be drawn into being given the dreaded vote of confidence or anything like that. Competitive sport always brings scrutiny and decisions.
"We'll constantly want to assess our options but we'll always want to do the right thing by the sport, the team and individuals."
West Indies grab three late wickets on day one as third Test against England in the balance
England lost three wickets in a dramatic end to day one of the third Test against West Indies, leaving them in a precarious position after restricting the tourists for 282.
Gus Atkinson finished with figures of 4-67, while Chris Woakes took 3-69 for England, as only a fine sixth-wicket stand from Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva saved West Indies from being bowled out for a much lower total.
But England, chasing a 3-0 series whitewash, let their dominant position slip when taking up the bat for the final 35 minutes, Zak Crawley (18), Ben Duckett (3) and Mark Wood (0) being dispatched as bowler Jayden Seales dropped them to 38-3.
Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and chose to bat, leading his side to a solid start before a spell of three wickets in five overs before lunch put England on top.
Atkinson accounted for Mikyle Louis (26) and Alick Athanaze (2) on either side of Wood sending stumps flying with a full delivery to dismiss Kirk McKenize for 12.
Brathwaite's knock of 61 was brought to a halt shortly after the action resumed, the captain gloving Wood's leg-side ball to Jamie Smith as the tourists slid from 76-0 to 115-5 in 45 balls.
Holder (59) and Da Silva (49) then shared 108 to drag the Windies towards a respectable total, but things looked bleak for them when the latter feathered Woakes' ball through to Smith.
Having gone 30 overs without a wicket, England needed just 14 more to polish off the tail, the highlight being a terrific diving catch from Joe Root to send Gudakesh Motie (8) packing.
England were given just over half an hour with the bat to cap Friday's action, but any hopes of a serene finish were soon dashed.
Holder made two terrific catches off Seales' bowling, the first from Crawley's thick outside edge and the second to dismiss Wood for a duck, either side of Alzarri Joseph's cracking delivery accounting for Duckett.
That spell ensured what had been a good day for the hosts ended on a sour note, with the Windies sure to target quick wickets when the action resumes on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Atkinson and Seales dominate
This series began with all the focus on James Anderson as England's greatest-ever bowler bowed out at Lord's, but Atkinson has taken centre-stage since making his Test debut in the opening match and now has 20 wickets through five innings.
That is eight more than West Indies' Jayden Seales, the next-most prolific bowler in this series, has managed.
Seales was determined to have an impact on day one, though, and his two wickets at the death have set the stage for a far more competitive match than those England won at Lord's and Trent Bridge.
Bairstow set sights on swift England Test return
Jonny Bairstow bit back when asked if he was targeting an England return, insisting it is "all I want to do."
Bairstow was dropped from England's Test team for the ongoing series against West Indies.
The 34-year-old was part of England's T20 World Cup squad, and played in all five Tests of the tour of India earlier this year.
Bairstow has made 100 Test appearances, and when asked what his immediate target was, the wicketkeeper-batsman told former England captain and now-BBC Sport pundit Michael Vaughan: "All I want to do is play for England. That's end of.
"You don't need to ask me that do you? I think you know me well enough and I think you've known me for long enough to know that."
Bairstow did, however, enjoy a break away from the game, having had four weeks off before he joined the Welsh Fire for the Hundred.
He said: "At the same time it's been a great period of time.
"I had the best part of seven months away from home. Since January, I had five nights at home in my own bed since, until three weeks ago.
"That's the thing you have to sacrifice, time at home but at the same time, when you are away for that period of time, it takes its toll."
England are 2-0 up against the Windies in their three-match series, with the final Test starting at Edgbaston on Friday.
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