Pride bamboozle Scorpions batsmen

Sabina Park has, in the past, been a fortress of pace and bounce, but on day two of the West Indies Championship, it was turn and torment that told the tale.

The Barbados Pride, led by a masterful Roston Chase and Joshua Bishop, spun the Jamaica Scorpions into a tangled mess, leaving the hosts staring down a huge 275-run deficit at stumps.

Resuming the day on a commanding 346 for 5, the Pride’s intent was clear: bat the Scorpions out of the contest, and they did just that.

The visitors piled up 439, then bowled out the hosts for 142, and had them 22 for one following on.

Earlier, Roston Chase, 82 overnight, and Leniko Boucher, 40, wasted little time bringing up their century partnership off just 125 balls.

Boucher brought up an even 50 with a mixture of patience and aggression, but his stay came to an end on 358 when Marquino Mindley found the edge, and the wicketkeeper did the rest. Boucher walked for 50, having struck five fours and a six.

Chase looked destined for three figures, but on 84, he attempted a hook shot off Mindley that found only the waiting Abhijai Mansingh at mid-wicket.

Just like that, the Pride were 367 for 7. When Joshua Bishop (4) and Jomel Warrican (4) fell cheaply, the innings appeared to be winding down.

But Shamar Springer (45 not out) and last man Jediah Blades (21) had other ideas, stitching together a defiant 63-run, last-wicket stand.

Mindley eventually removed Blades to wrap up the Pride’s innings at 439 all out just before the lunch interval.

Mindley and Odean Smith finsihed with three wickets each, with Brad Barnes taking two.

If the Scorpions thought the worst was behind them, they were sorely mistaken.

In reply, Jamaica’s openers ground their way to a half-century stand in 11 painstaking overs.

But with the score on 61, captain John Campbell, 36, was undone by the off-spin of Chase.

Six runs later, the nightmare deepened. Brandon King, cutting at a full spinning off-break from Chase, watched his off stump lean back. He was gone for one.

Javelle Glenn and Kirk McKenzie attempted to rebuild, nudging the score to 95. But McKenzie’s 86-ball vigil, which yielded 31 with five fours, ended when he slashed left-arm seamer Jediah Blades straight to point.

At 95 for 3, the floodgates opened. What followed was a collapse of biblical proportions.

The Scorpions lost their remaining seven wickets for just 47 runs, with batsmen prodding indecisively, caught at bat pad, or trapped lbw or bowled, as the pitch began to sing for the spinners.

Chase, who was on a hat-trick at one stage, finished with a mesmerising 5 for 28, while left-arm spinner Bishop snared 4 for 31.

Glenn made 21, and Romaine Morris made 19. All out for 142, the Scorpions were forced to follow on, trailing by 297 runs.

The second bite at the cherry lasted all of three balls before disaster struck again.

Captain Campbell was bowled for a duck by Bishop off the third ball of the innings.

Brandon King (15) and Kirk McKenzie (7) survived the remaining overs to drag the Scorpions to 22 for 1 at stumps, still 275 runs behind.

Speaking after play, a buoyant Bishop made no secret of Barbados’ intentions.

“Today was a good batting and bowling day. The batsmen really set us up to come in this position, to come and bowl the way we did today,” Bishop said.

“We mainly bowled in partnerships, from Roston and me, to Jediah and Shamar together. So all in all, the wicket was taking spin, so it was just mainly the bowling partnerships. Right now, at the moment, we’re in a very good position because we have them one down for less than probably 40. So we’re in a very good position to come back tomorrow and bowl them out to win the game.”

With two days left and a mountain still to climb, the Scorpions will need a miracle to prevent the Pride from scraping up all the marbles and even the three-match bilateral series at a game apiece.