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• Thomas, Hamilton, Ward half centuries give Leewards strong start against T&T

   Solid middle order batting from the trio of Devon Thomas, Jahmar Hamilton and Terrance Ward left the Leeward Islands Hurricanes in a comfortable position, on day 1 of the West Indies Championship fixture at Warner Park.

  At stumps, the Leewards were 295 for 5 after being sent in to bat by the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force who won the toss.  The score was, however, compiled after the Hurricanes staged a remarkable recover after a poor start to the innings.

  The Hurricanes lost opener Montcin Hodge in the fourth over and partner Kieran Powell four overs later to leave the team struggling at 14 for 2.  Medium pacer Daniel St Clair was responsible for the removal of both openers, first bowling Hodge for 2 before having Powell caught by Jason Mohammed for 5.

  Up next at the crease, however, Keacy Carty and Thomas began the repair job for the Hurricanes, adding 105 for the third wicket.

  The partnership was ended when Carty, who was just short of a half-century on 44, was caught by Joshua Da Silva off the bowling of Anderson Phillips.  Thomas followed to the pavilion five overs later, when he was stumped by Denesh Ramdin off the bowling of Khary Pierre.  Thomas’ well struck 67 came from 103 balls.

  There would be little respite for the T&T bowling attack, however, as Hamilton would join Ward at the crease with the duo putting on 109 for the fifth wicket.  The partnership was ended by Pierre who had Hamilton caught by Jason Mohammed on 68.

  Ward ended the day on 64 and was joined at the crease by Rahkeem Cornwall, who was not out on 34 from 55.  St Clair and Pierre were the pick of the bowlers, with two wickets each for the Red Force.

• Dave Cameron to face Skerritt challenge for CWI presidency

  Cricket West Indies President Dave Cameron will face a challenge to his attempt to lead the organization for a fourth term from former West Indies team manager, Ricky Skerritt.

  Skerritt announced he would be in the running for the post that goes up for election on March 28 and announced a running mate in Dr Kishore Shallow, who will be challenging for the post of vice president. 

• Holder credits belligerent Gayle despite losing effort for Windies

  Windies skipper Jason Holder has hailed the impact of top opening batsman Chris Gayle who cracked 135 in a losing effort against England on Monday.

  On a placid Kensington Oval pitch that suited the batsmen, the 39-year-old left-hander cracked an astounding 12 sixes and four 4s enroute to his 135 off 129 balls.  The effort was, however, somewhat in vain as England cruised to a six-wicket win on the back of centuries from Jason Roy (123) and Joe Root (102).  The result saw England move ahead 1-0 in the five-test One Day International series.

  “Credit to our batters I thought we played exceptionally well on what was a really good pitch, one of the best I have seen at Kensington Oval for a while. I thought Chris played a really good innings. He took a bit of time upfront, got himself set and then put pressure back on the spinners in the middle and forced Eoin Morgan to bring back the seamers back a bit earlier. I felt he held the innings together and gave other batters a chance to express themselves,” Holder said.

  “England played well to chase down our target. We’re now 1-0 down so we know we have to bounce back on Friday and look to make it 1-1 before we head off to Grenada.”

  The teams will play the second ODI at the same venue tomorrow.