Bradley Jacks

Bradley Jacks

Bradley Jacks is a budding journalist and an avid sports fan. His love of research and sports has led him to SportsMax.tv, a place where those passions work hand in hand to allow him to produce content.

West Indies T20I Captain Rovman Powell says he is not concerned with the team’s death bowling heading into Tuesday’s fourth T20I against England at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba.

Phil Salt starred with an unbeaten 109 to help England chase down a mammoth target of 223 to win the third T20I on Saturday in Grenada. As such, the West Indies will enter the fourth game with a 2-1 lead and a chance to clinch the series.

England hit 19 sixes on their way to victory and Powell says his team will be solely focused on bringing that number down for the remainder of the series.

“It comes down to execution. Once we can execute as a bowling group, the six-hitting count will go down so that is what we’re stressing on for the rest of the series,” he said.

 “Skills are very important in T20. Those Yorkers, wide Yorkers and defensive Yorkers are very important, especially when you get good batters on good wickets. If your skillset is not really up to par, you will always find yourself under pressure,” he added.

With that being said, Powell said he is not concerned with his team’s inability to defend totals.

“It’s not of major concern at the moment. All we’re concerned with is to just keep improving in all three areas. As a team, that is what we strive for and once we do that, we’ll be okay,” he said.

A question many people asked after the third game is why Powell opted to go with Andre Russell, who was expensive in his previous three overs, for the last over as opposed to himself, Kyle Mayers or Sherfane Rutherford for the last over with England needing 21 to win.

“When you look on the scheme of things, Russell was going at 10 runs per over and they needed in excess of 20 runs in the last over so I think it was only fair that I give Russell, one of my main bowlers, the final over. Unfortunate things do happen and if the situation did arise in another game, I’d be confident enough for Russell to bowl the final one,” Powell said.

With all that said, Powell says the team is in a good place ahead of Tuesday’s game.

“The conversations have been positive. We’re still in a good place and leading the series. It was just unfortunate that we didn’t come out on top,” he said.

“We went for the series win in our last game and unfortunately came up short. Tomorrow provides another opportunity for us to do that. The guys are upbeat,” he added.

The 30-year-old has yet to lose a series as skipper of the West Indies T20I side and spoke about the key to getting the best out of his players.

“I think it’s just putting players in roles that they are comfortable. We have a very good team with a lot of experience so it’s very important to put players in roles that they are comfortable with. Once you do that then you get the best out of players,” he said.

West Indies T20I Captain Rovman Powell, ODI vice-captain Alzarri Joseph and the ninth-ranked T20I bowler in the world, Akeal Hosein, headline a number of West Indians vying for selection in the IPL player Auction scheduled for Tuesday.

Powell, one of the world’s most destructive T20 batsmen, most recently represented the Delhi Capitals last season and has also represented the Kolkata Knight Riders previously.

He made his debut in 2022 and has scored 257 runs in 17 matches at an average of 19.77 with a top score of 67*.

Joseph made his IPL debut in 2019 and has taken 20 wickets in 19 matches including a career best 6-12 for the Mumbai Indians. Last season, Joseph played for the Gujarat Titans who won the title.

Hosein has only made one IPL appearance, taking the field for the Sunrisers Hyderabad last season.

Brandon King, Sherfane Rutherford, Fabian Allen, Matthew Forde, Jason Holder, Keemo Paul, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope, Obed McCoy, Oshane Thomas, Odean Smith and Shamar Joseph are the other West Indians entered into Tuesday’s auction.

King, Forde, Hope and Joseph are the only ones with no previous IPL experience.

 

Head Coach of Jamaica’s Under-20 Reggae Boyz, John Wall, says senior professional minutes will be the main benchmark for the selection of his squad for the Concacaf Under-20 Qualifiers set for February 23-March 2, 2024 across five venues in Central America and the Caribbean.

Jamaica were drawn alongside Bermuda, Grenada and St. Kitts & Nevis in Group F of the qualifiers. That group will play at the SKNFA Technical Center in Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis.

“What I’m interested in is the long haul and figuring out how these players can become first team players for Jamaica,” said Wall at a Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) press conference on Thursday.

 “It’s been a process ever since March on a monthly basis in except July and September-November. In those months, it’s hard to get access to the players. We’re close to 80 players reviewed since March,” he said. We’re already pretty much fully operative and people are voluntarily scouting for us and providing reports so I’m pretty close to actually delivering the 60-man squad that will be the provisional list sent to Concacaf,” he added.

Wall then outlined that he is using the blueprint of the youth setups of Denmark and Uruguay for how he is selecting players for his squad, mentioning senior minutes played as the main benchmark for those teams.

“I’ve used Denmark and Uruguay as a benchmark. They’re pretty close in terms of size of the nation. Denmark’s U-21, and I’m taking two highest leagues, by October this year, has 21,885 senior professional minutes and a squad market value of 29 million Euros. Uruguay, who won the U-20 World Cup, 18,000+ and a squad value of 28 million Euros. How close is Jamaica to that on a global scale?” he said.

“For me, I have to look at senior professional minutes first and looking domestically, it’s a semi-professional league in JPL so that’s the closest we can get there. Globally, how close are the players to actually playing senior professional football? The margin now globally is that players are getting younger and younger, better educated and kind of pre-selected. Domestically, you’re looking at age groups that were hit the most by Covid and did not play too much at all so it’s been a race to the bottom depletion of the pool. Unfortunately, I cannot relate to schoolboy football and converting that to global football; it’s a different game,” he added.

Once the provisional squad is selected, Wall says the plan going forward is to get some friendlies and try to utilize as many players as possible leading into the qualifiers.

“Moving on, what we’re looking at is in January to play a friendly where we’ll utilize players from Jamaica and North America and furthermore, heading into February prior to the qualifiers, being on a camp and playing an added two more friendlies that are of a high quality so we will be prepared well for the qualifiers. Then we will be able to utilize an even bigger group of players,” he said.

“It’s been a gradual thing, trying to utilize as many players as possible. Speaking of that, we have assessed, we have reviewed, we have scouted and done due diligence prior to all of this. I am human meaning on the selection day there will be one or two players that might’ve been there,” Wall added.

General Secretary of the Jamaica Football Federation, Dennis Chung, has commended the work done by Jamaican football’s governing body on the back of a busy calendar year of football in the country.

The Reggae Girlz and Reggae Boyz hosted seven games between them in Jamaica between September and November.

“It has been an extremely busy year. In September we had three games, in October we had two games and we had two games in November and anyone who knows what it takes to plan a game, it takes a lot of time, effort and resources,” Chung said at a press conference at the JFF offices on Thursday.

“We had so many events during the year so it was really good that we were able to manage through it. My commendations to the staff because I know the amount of work that they go through to put an event on or to mobilize a team, it is significant. The amount of money that we spent taking the women to the World Cup was about US $2 million. We have to manage all of that,” he added.

The Reggae Boyz hosted Honduras, Haiti and Canada in Concacaf Nations League A action while the Girlz hosted Canada in an Olympic Qualifier as well as Guatemala and Panama in a pair of Concacaf W Gold Cup qualifiers.

Chung also pointed out that despite some hiccups such as Visa issues for travelling parties, the federation was able to get through the year with no major hindrances.

“We are grateful for the activity that has happened and grateful, also, that we really have not had any incidents in the year. We had one or two hiccups when it relates to the Visa process but it didn’t cause any major dislocation,” Chung said.

“The first one had to do with the UK incident where the staff was late in getting their Visas because of the move of the processing from Jamaica to New York and then we had the incident of the U-15s going to Sweden. Outside of that I think we’ve had a fairly successful year administratively,” he added.

Without going into specific numbers, Chung also mentioned that the JFF were able to sort out some financial problems they were experiencing.

“The other thing that was initially a challenge for us was the administration of the accounting because, as you know, the JFF has been on restricted funding for a while but I’m happy to say that, based on how we’ve closed out the year and our interactions with FIFA, who we had invited to come here in November, I think we’re in a much better place,” he said.

“We would’ve gotten, during the year, a tax compliance certificate, which many companies in Jamaica do not have. We have been managing very well, certainly better than last year, in terms of the demands of the organization,” Chung added.

Chung also commented on renovations done to the Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence located at the University of the West Indies.

“We also did a lot of work at the center and we were able to host some national teams there. The Trinidad National Men’s team was there and the Guyana Men’s team was there as well. We were able to also rent out the facility. It’s now well renovated,” he said.

“2023 was a year of bringing all the chips together, ensuring we have the right capacity in place and we’re as productive as possible given the circumstances,” he added.

The current administration will now turn their attention to the upcoming JFF presidential elections scheduled for January 14, 2024.

 

 

 

Jamaica’s preferred rum, Wray & Nephew, is partnering with the Kingston & St. Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) as sponsors of their upcoming KSAFA Major League and Championship seasons.

The pair announced the union at a press conference on Tuesday at the Wray & Nephew headquarters in Kingston.

The KSAFA Wray & Nephew Major League will consist of twelve teams divided into two zones of six.

At the end of the preliminary round, the top four teams from each zone will advance to the quarterfinal knockout round. The two finalists in the Major League will advance to next season’s KSAFA Championship.

The teams participating in the KSAFA Wray & Nephew Major League are Allman Woodward FC, August Town FC, Bull Bay FC, Cooreville Gardens FC, Duhaney Park FC, Maxfield Park FC, New Kingston FC, Pembroke Hall FC, Police Nation FC, Red Hills FC, Rockfort FC and Seaview Gardens FC.

The KSAFA Wray & Nephew Championship will also feature 12 teams but in a league format where all teams will play each other home and away.

At the end of the preliminary round, the top four teams will advance to the semi-final knockout round. The winner of the KSAFA Wray & Nephew Championship will be allowed to participate in the JFF Tier two competition should they wish to do so for a chance to earn promotion to the Jamaica Premier League.

The teams participating in the KSAFA Wray & Nephew Championship are Barbican FC, Boys Town FC, Browns Town FC, Central Kingston, Constant Spring FC, Liguanea United, JDF FC, Mavarley Hughenden, Olympic Gardens FC, Real Mona FC, Santos FC and Shortwood FC.

“I want to thank Wray & Nephew for coming on board. The sponsorship this year is quite a step up to what we had last year, truth be told. For the first time in the history of KSAFA, the winner of the Championship will receive $1 million,” says KSAFA President Mark Bennett.

“This sponsorship is a significant moment in our history. We no longer view sponsorship as support or a social investment, really; it is that and more! It speaks to the confidence the organization has in KSAFA,” he added.

“Today, Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum charts a new course with the Kingston & St. Andrew Football Association,” said J Wray & Nephew Public Relations and Communications Manager Dominic Bell.

“This partnership is another signal of our consistent support of sports and wider culture throughout the island. Football is one of Jamaica’s most beloved pastimes and is one of the most popular sports at the professional level. It has an organic relationship with our communities and the KSAFA leagues are a testament to this,” Bell added.

Action in both competitions gets underway this weekend.

 

West Indies T20I Captain Rovman Powell has expressed excitement at the return of all-rounder Andre Russell to the West Indies T20 side on the eve of the first of five games against England.

Russell last represented the West Indies at the ICC T20 World Cup in Dubai two years ago.

“It’s always good to have Andre Russell in a West Indies team,” Powell said in a pre-match press conference on Monday.

“We know the quality that he comes with and he’s fit and rearing and ready to go put on the maroon again for the people of the Caribbean. It’s exciting time for me as a Captain and also for the fans,” he added.

Powell and Russell, along with fellow squad members Nicholas Pooran, Kyle Mayers, Akeal Hosein and Jason Holder, were most recently a part of the Abu Dhabi T10 League, a fact that the skipper thinks will help them in this upcoming series.

“We have enough cricket under our belt to do well at the international level. It’s good that the guys played games in Abu Dhabi right down to the finals and if you look at the individual performances, they were very good so that brings confidence coming into this series,” Powell said.

“I’m very excited. When you look on our team that includes so much returning guys, it’s a powerful team. Having said that, we still have to play some good cricket and put it together as a complete team and from an individual perspective,” he added. 

The last time the West Indies hosted England for a T20I series, they came out as 3-2 winners. Powell finished that series as the second-leading run scorer with 147 runs in three innings, including a career best 107* at Kensington Oval, the venue for Tuesday’s series opener.

“It’s always nice to be in Barbados. It always brings back good memories especially against England so it’s good to be here,” Powell said.

“It’s important for me to try my best and lead from the front. Once you lead from the front, players will always follow so I’m looking at my personal game and once I come to the party, naturally the guys will follow,” he added.

With the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup a few months away, Powell says this series gives the team an opportunity to find combinations that will work for them.

“It’s very important. It’s good that we’ve played T20 series’ before so we have an idea of the combinations that will work well for us. These five games against England provide another opportunity for us to fine tune whatever areas we need to fine tune,” he said.

 

The West Indies claimed their first home ODI series win over England since 1998 with a four-wicket win via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method in the decisive third ODI at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday.

In a match eventually reduced to 40 overs per side after rain interruptions before and during the match, England recovered from a horrific first ten overs to post 206-9 from their 40 overs after being put in to bat by West Indian skipper Shai Hope.

Debutant Matthew Forde got proceedings off to the best possible start for the West Indies with the wicket of Phil Salt for just four at the end of the first over.

Not long after, Forde was at it again, picking up the wickets of Zak Crawley (0) and Will Jacks (17) to leave England struggling at 45-3 at the start of the ninth over.

45-3 became 48-4 in the 10th over when Alzarri Joseph brilliantly ran out Harry Brook off his own bowling for one.

England captain Jos Buttler, fresh off a half-century in the last game, lasted only one ball on Saturday.

Joseph greeted Buttler with a well-directed short ball that he was unable to control, helping the ball out to Gudakesh Motie on the deep square leg boundary for a simple catch to leave England 49-5 after 10 overs of the rain-shortened 43 overs per side contest.

An 88-run sixth wicket partnership between Ben Duckett and Liam Livingstone provided some stability to the English effort before Duckett fell for a well-played 73-ball 71 in the 26th over. His knock included six fours and one six.

Livingstone was next to go two overs later, caught by Sherfane Rutherford at mid-on off the bowling of Romario Shepherd for 45 to leave England 142-7.

With England 161-7 off 33 overs, the rains came once again. Soon after the restart, England lost their eighth wicket when Rehan Ahmed fell caught behind off the bowling of Alzarri Joseph for 15 to leave the score 166-8 in the 34th over.

Joseph picked up his third wicket when he had Sam Curran caught on the point boundary by Gudakesh Motie for 12 to leave England 171-9 in the 36th over.

In the end, a 35-run 10th wicket partnership between Gus Atkinson (20*) and Matthew Potts (15*) helped England reach 206-9.

Forde ended with 3-29 from his eight overs while Joseph was expensive, going for 61 from his eight overs with three wickets to his name.

A third rain delay during the innings break meant the West Indies had a revised target of 188 from 34 overs.

The chase got off to the worst possible start when Brandon King was caught at cover off the bowling of Gus Atkinson for just one in the second over.

Alick Athanaze and Keacy Carty then put together a solid 76-run second wicket partnership that ended when Atkinson trapped Athanaze in front for a 51-ball 45 in the 14th over.

Captain Shai Hope was next to go, caught brilliantly by Matthew Potts off the bowling of Rehan Ahmed for 15 to leave the West Indies 99-3 in the 17th over.

Then, with the West Indies cruising needing 72 from 78 balls, Shimron Hetmyer mistimed a ball straight into the hands of Phil Salt at point for 11 off the bowling of Will Jacks.

The West Indies quickly lost another one when Sherfane Rutherford held out to Zak Crawley at long on off Jacks’ bowling for three to leave the score at 122-5 after 23.2 overs leaving the hosts needing 66 runs from 64 balls.

Carty, two balls after bringing up an excellent half century, became Jacks’ third victim in quick succession caught and bowled to leave the West Indies 135-6 needing 53 runs from 50 balls.

The 31st proved to be the ultimate game changer for the West Indies. The over bowled by Gus Atkinson went for 24 to leave them needing just nine more to win from the final three overs.

In the end, Romario Shepherd (41*) and Matthew Forde (13*) steered the West Indies to 191-6 off 31.4 overs to seal the 2-1 series win.

Will Jacks tried his best for England with 3-22 from his seven overs while Gus Atkinson ended with 2058 from his six overs.

Full Scores:

England 206-9 off 40 overs (Ben Duckett 71, Liam Livingston 45, Matthew Forde 3-29, Alzarri Joseph 3-61, Romario Shepherd 2-50)

West Indies 191-6 off 31.4 overs (Keacy Carty 50, Alick Athanaze 45, Romario Shepherd 41*, Will Jacks 3-22, Gus Atkinson 2-58)

Captain Joshua Da Silva hit a fourth first-class hundred but it proved to be not enough as the West Indies “A” suffered a 76-run loss in the third “Test” against South Africa “A” to lose the series 1-2.

The West Indians began Friday’s fourth and final day at the Manguang Oval in Bloemfontein on 47-1 off 20 overs, needing a further 374 runs for victory with Kirk McKenzie (26) and Tagenarine Chanderpaul (11) at the crease.

The pair started day four excellently, putting on a further 79 for the second wicket.

McKenzie was the aggressor throughout, riding his luck and producing some excellent shots on his way to a 94-ball 81 before he fell to Duanne Olivier in the 40th over. His knock consisted 13 fours and two sixes.

Just one over later, Chanderpaul fell for a toiling 31 off 128 balls including three fours.

18-year-old debutant Jordan Johnson was next to go for nine, bringing Da Silva to the wicket to join Kavem Hodge.

Hodge and Da Silva made things very nervous for the South Africans with an 84-run fifth wicket partnership before Hodge fell for a well-played 47 with the score on 233 in the 68th over.

Kevin Sinclair (23), Akeem Jordan (13) and Shamar Joseph (0) all fell in relatively quick succession to leave West Indies “A” on the brink of defeat, especially because they were batting with 10 due to an injury sustained by Jayden Seales.

Nevertheless, Da Silva continued on his merry way, bringing up a fourth first-class hundred off the fifth ball of the 90th over.

In the end, he was the last batsman dismissed for a top score of 110 from 138 balls including eight fours and two sixes.

Dane Paterson led the way with the ball for the South Africans once again with 4-66 from 20.1 overs while Ruan de Swardt took 2-45 from 15 overs.

Full Scores:

South Africa “A” 274 off 67.4 overs (Khaya Zondo 70, Neil Brand 62, Zubayr Hamza 30, Kevin Sinclair 5-44, Shamar Joseph 3-65, Shermon Lewis 2-68) & 272-5 dec. off 66 overs (Zubayr Hamza 110*, Ruan de Swardt 86, Khaya Zondo 31, Raynard Van Tonder 30, Shamar Joseph 5-76)

West Indies “A” 126 off 42.5 overs (Kevin Sinclair 50, Jordan Johnson 33, Dane Paterson 4-34, Hardus Viljoen 2-43) & 344-9 off 91.1 overs (Joshua Da Silva 110, Kirk McKenzie 81, Kavem Hodge 47, Dane Paterson 4-66, Ruan de Swardt 2-45)

 

West Indies “A” will once again have a mountain to climb on day four of the third “Test” against South Africa “A” if they want to complete a series win.

The hosts began Thursday’s day three in Bloemfontein 104-3 with a commanding 252-run lead with Zubayr Hamza unbeaten on 33 and Khaya Zondo on 29.

While Zondo was dismissed quickly for 31, Hamza carried on to make a brilliant 110* off 152 balls including 12 fours and a six.

He shared in a crushing 159-run fifth wicket partnership with Ruan de Swardt who made a 126-ball 86 including nine fours and a six.

South Africa eventually declared at 272-5 off 66 overs, leaving the West Indies “A” needing a massive 421 for victory.

Shamar Joseph took all five wickets for the West Indians while conceding 76 runs in 18 overs.

Windies “A” ended the day 47-1 off 20 overs, with Zachary McCaskie being the batsman dismissed for eight.

Kirk McKenzie (26) and Tagenarine Chanderpaul (11) are the batsmen at the crease.

Full Scores:

South Africa “A” 274 off 67.4 overs (Khaya Zondo 70, Neil Brand 62, Zubayr Hamza 30, Kevin Sinclair 5-44, Shamar Joseph 3-65, Shermon Lewis 2-68) & 272-5 dec. off 66 overs (Zubayr Hamza 110*, Ruan de Swardt 86, Khaya Zondo 31, Raynard Van Tonder 30, Shamar Joseph 5-76)

West Indies “A” 126 off 42.5 overs (Kevin Sinclair 50, Jordan Johnson 33, Dane Paterson 4-34, Hardus Viljoen 2-43) & 47-1 off 20 overs (Kirk McKenzie 26*, Tagenarine Chanderpaul 11*)

 

 

Kevin Sinclair was the star of day one of the deciding third unofficial “Test” between the West Indies “A” and South Africa “A” at the Manguang Oval in Bloemfontein on Tuesday.

South Africa “A” were able to post 274 in 67.4 overs after winning the toss. Khaya Zondo led the way with a well-compiled 70 off 114 balls including seven fours and two sixes.

Captain Neil Brand also showed some good form with a 93-ball 62 while Zubayr Hamza made 30.

Sinclair was excellent with the ball, picking up 5-44 off 14.4 overs, already his fourth five-wicket haul of his 20-match first-class career.

Shamar Joseph and Shermon Lewis provided good support with 3-65 from 15 overs and 2-68 from 13 overs, respectively.

The West Indians ended the day 17-1 off eight overs, trailing by 257. Tagenarine Chanderpaul was the batsman dismissed for 3. Zachary McCaskie (12) and Kirk McKenzie (2) are the batsmen at the crease.

The teams are tied at 1-1 in the series. West Indies “A” won the first game by one wicket and South Africa “A” won the second by 232 runs.

Full Scores:

South Africa “A” 274 off 67.4 overs (Khaya Zondo 70, Neil Brand 62, Zubayr Hamza 30, Kevin Sinclair 5-44, Shamar Joseph 3-65, Shermon Lewis 2-68)

West Indies “A” 17-1 off 8 overs

 

Kevlon Anderson scored a magnificent second first-class century to put the West Indies Academy in an excellent position at stumps on day one of their second four-day game against Emerging Ireland at Coolidge on Saturday.

The hosts ended the day 300-8 off 89.4 overs after being put in to bat by Emerging Ireland.

Anderson, 23, ended the day 101* off 172 balls including 14 fours and was well supported by Captain Nyeem Young who made 80 off 115 balls including seven fours and five sixes.

Matthew Nandu and centurion from the first game, Joshua Bishop, also made solid contributions with 35 and 22, respectively.

Tom Mayes has so far grabbed 3-62 off 21 overs while Michael Frost and Matthew Foster have taken 2-71 from 25 overs and 2-90 from 23.4 overs, respectively.

Full Scores:

West Indies Academy 300-8 off 89.4 overs (Kevlon Anderson 101*, Nyeem Young 80, Tom Mayes 3-62, Michael Frost 2-71)

 

Jamaica’s Men’s 3x3 Basketball team successfully navigated Thursday’s qualifying round at the FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Drawn in qualifying group B alongside Mexico and Guatemala, they finished with a record of 1-1 to advance.

They lost 13-22 to Mexico before rebounding with a 21-13 win over Guatemala.

They will take on the USA and Argentina in Pool A on Saturday.

Jamaica’s women’s basketball team has advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2023 FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The Jamaicans got through qualifying on Thursday’s opening day with a pair of dominant wins over Nicaragua (21-1) and the Cayman Islands (22-3), respectively, while suffering a narrow 14-22 defeat to Colombia in between those games.

Friday saw them go 1-1 in Pool D play, losing to Puerto Rico 14-16 in overtime before beating Mexico 16-14, to advance to the quarterfinals.

They will tackle Brazil in the quarters on Saturday afternoon.

 

Johnson Charles and Rovman Powell both played starring roles to help the Delhi Bulls get their second win in as many games in the 2023 Abu Dhabi T10 League on Friday with a 65-run triumph over the Chennai Braves at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.

Charles made a 21-ball 40 opening the batting including four fours and two sixes while skipper Powell, batting at five, hit 35 off just 15 balls including one four and four sixes to help the Bulls post an intimidating 126-6 off their 10 overs after being put in to bat.

Englishman James Vince also showed good form with 37 off 14 balls. Obed McCoy and Junaid Siddique had identical figures of 2-18 from two overs.

Chennai’s chase then came up significantly short, being bowled out for just 61 in 8.5 overs.

Only Mohammad Nabi was able to crack double figures with 25 as Fazalhaq Farooqi (2-8 from two overs), Muhammad Rohid (2-14 from two overs), Naveen-ul-Haq (2-22 from two overs) and Ravi Bopara (2-4 from five balls) combined to produce an excellent display of bowling.

West Indies “A” will have it all to do on Saturday’s fourth and final day of their second unofficial “Test” match against South Africa “A” if they want to go 2-0 up in the three-match series.

Friday saw the West Indians end day three 134-5 off 41 overs, needing a further 308 runs for victory on day four at Buffalo Park in East London.

Zachary McCaskie hit a 90-ball 50 to top score for the West Indies, so far.

Tevin Imlach (16) and Kevin Sinclair (15) are the batsmen at the crease.

Off-spinner Dane Piedt ended the day with 3-57 from 14 overs.

Earlier, South Africa began day three 65-1 with a lead of 209 runs and continued to drive the West Indies further back through some excellent batting.

Tony De Zorzi (34) and Raynard Van Tonder (20) were the batsmen at the crease at the start of the day.

De Zorzi fell pretty quickly for 37 and that wicket brought Keegan Petersen to the crease to join Van Tonder.

Van Tonder was able to score his second half-century of the game with a 74-ball 56 before he fell in the 39th over with South Africa “A” cruising at 139-3.

Petersen carried on, batting beautifully on his way to an unbeaten 112 off 134 balls, following up his 67 in the first innings.

Khaya Zondo (49) and Ruan De Swardt (29*) also provided excellent contributions as the hosts declared on 297-4 off 71.3 overs, setting the West Indies a target of 442 for victory.

Full Scores:

South Africa “A” 298 off 97.2 overs (Keegan Petersen 67, Raynard Van Tonder 50, Tony De Zorzi 44, Ruan De Swardt 42, Akeem Jordan 3-43, Shamar Joseph 3-57, Kevin Sinclair 2-53, Jair McAllister 2-64) & 297-4 dec. off 71.3 overs (Keegan Petersen 112*, Raynard Van Tonder 56, Khaya Zondo 49)

West Indies “A” 154 off 47.2 overs (Zachary McCaskie 62, Dane Piedt 5-28, Tshepo Moreki 3-66) & 134-5 off 41 overs (Zachary McCaskie 50, Dane Piedt 3-57)

 

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