Samuels century sparks Windies B team to win over Canada

WEST Indies senior player, Marlon Samuels, showed his class with his Regional 50-Overs career second hundred and sparked West Indies B team to a hard-fought 10-run victory over gallant Canada in the CWI Regional Super50 in their Group A day-night match at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Toruba, South Trinidad last evening.

West Indies B amassed 302 for 8 in 50 overs while Canada replied with 292 for 8 in their 50 overs.

Samuels is the captain of the Windies B and he displayed his authority and featured in a match-winning 165-run fourth wicket partnership with Trinidadian Yannic Cariah who registered an attractive 73 that included four sixes and four fours off 83 deliveries.

Having won the toss and batted first, Samuels topscored with 101 that was studded with four sixes and ten fours off 96 deliveries. It was Samuels’ second regional 50-overs triple-figure mark as the West Indies B innings closed at 302 for 8 off their allotted 50 overs.

Kimani Melius also impressed with three sixes and four fours off 47 deliveries in an entertaining 46 as he shared a 44-run second wicket stand with Kirstan Kallicharran (7 off 19 balls) and 36 for the third wicket with the more dominant Samuels who changed gears when Cariah joined him at 83 for three wickets after 15.3 overs.

During their 25.2 overs stand, Samuels contributed 77 off 73 balls while Cariah got 73 off 83 balls. Guyanese Tevin Imlach, 17 (22 balls) and Trinidadian Leonardo Julien 27 (2x4s off 26 balls) posted 43 for the seventh wicket in 6.5 overs.

For Canada, Romesh Don finished with five wickets for 31 off eight overs while Salman Nazar took three wickets for 60 in his 10-over quota.

In reply, the Canadians fought bravely and got a brisk start as openers Rodrigo Thomas and Navnert Dhalilal raced to 67 in 7.4 overs when Javor Royal removed Dhalilal via the caught and bowl route for 16 (3x4s off 16 balls).

Thomas smashed one six and ten fours before Cariah bowled him for 63 off 55 balls with the score on 90 for 2 off 13.2 overs. Nitish Kumar and Srimantha Wijeyeratne restored the batting momentum with a 54-run third wicket stand before pacer Chemar Holder bowled Kumar and made it 144 for 4 off 23.6 overs.

West Indies youth wicketkeeper, Imlach, held on to two catches as the West Indies bowlers put the skids on their North American counterparts. He took the catch offered by skipper David Jacobs (13 runs off 13 balls) off Holder and then took care of the stubborn Srimantha Wijeyeratne off the bowling of pacer, Odean Smith.

Wijeyeratne topscored for the Canadians with a solid 57 that contained one six and three fours off 71 balls received.

In between those two wickets, Trinidadian senior off-spinner, Bryan Charles, who was very frugal in his first seven overs when he conceded only 16 runs, claimed Nikhil Dutta (17 runs off 26 balls) who was caught by Odean Smith and finished with an analysis of 10-0-29-1.

Smith then bowled Salman Nazar for zero and the Canadians were 209 for 7 after 37.5 overs, which became 238 for 8 when Cariah forced Dilon Heliger to offer Bryan Charles a catch and departed for seven.

Harsh Thaker and Sukhdeep Brar were involved in a fierce rear-guard battle and kept the Canadians in the hunt for an upset victory and fashioned a brilliant unbroken 65-run ninth wicket stand which was short by ten runs at the end of the tension-filled encounter.

Thaker made a quickfire unbeaten 52 (3x6s and 3x4s off 40 balls) while Brar was not out on 25 (1×6 and 1×4 off 24 balls).

Holder (2 for 61), Smith (2 for 69) and Cariah (2 for 60) shared the wickets.