The opening day of the latest West Indies Championship four-day clash between Jamaica Scorpions and Barbados Pride at St Catherine’s Chedwin Park delivered a dramatic twist of fortunes, with Jamaica’s head coach Robert Haynes insisting his side still holds the advantage after a testing day in the field.
Electing to bat first after winning the toss, the visiting Pride got off to a disastrous start, collapsing to 23 for three inside the opening seven overs. Fast bowler Marquino Mindley tore through the top of the order, dismissing Pride captain Kraigg Brathwaite and opening batsman Jonathan Drakes, while new ball partner Ojay Shields claimed the wicket of Shane Moseley to put the Scorpions firmly in control early on.
That early advantage was all but erased by a resilient counterattack, however, as Kevin Wickham and Kyle Mayers stitched together a match-turning 117-run partnership to steady the Pride innings. Mayers fell for a well-compiled 64, but Wickham continued his aggressive strokeplay to notch a spectacular personal century, finishing the day unbeaten in spectacular fashion with an innings of 153 that included six fours and a staggering 12 sixes. Useful lower-order contributions from Shamar Springer (40) and Joshua Bishop (37) pushed the Pride total past the 300 mark before the Scorpions bowling attack fought back to limit the damage.
Mindley and off-spinner Peat Salmon led the Jamaica bowling effort, each claiming four wickets, while Brad Barnes took the remaining one to restrict Barbados to 348 all out from 81.4 overs. The result means the Scorpions need another 332 runs to claim valuable first-innings points, and they closed the day’s play having already survived six overs, reaching 17 for no loss before stumps. Left-handed batsmen Kirk McKenzie (8 not out) and captain John Campbell (3 not out) will resume the innings for the hosts at 10:00 am on Monday, with no wickets lost.
Haynes acknowledged that his side’s bowling was not at its most consistent on a flat Chedwin Park pitch, which produced occasional unpredictable low bounce, but underlined that the points table puts Jamaica ahead entering the second day. “It’s funny, because they would have gotten two batting points and we got 10 wickets — we would have gotten three points — so overall right now we are in front,” he explained.
Haynes reserved special praise for match-winner Mindley, calling his performance exceptional. “He really bowled well, he bowled straight — wicket to wicket — and he got the reward. Peat bowled a good spell and he could have done better, but overall it wasn’t the best bowling performance. But at the end of the day, we still have to go here and bat. At 17 without losing a wicket after six overs, it’s a good start.”
The Jamaica coaching staff faced minor controversy ahead of the match after selecting a side that omitted home-grown left-arm spinner Jeavor Royal, who would have been playing on his home ground. Haynes defended the selection choice, noting that the team’s long-standing success against Barbados with off-spinners, paired with Brad Barnes’ six-wicket haul against the Pride in Barbados last season, justified the call. “Peat has gotten wickets before against them and, at the end of the day, we just felt that on this surface, the off-spinners would have done a lot better. It’s just for us to come back, get these runs, and go back out there and try and bowl out Barbados.”