Roston Chase hasn’t featured in a West Indies One-Day International team for the last three series. He has, however, now given the selectors something to think about.
His rich vein of form in the regional Super50 Festival continued yesterday with an impressive century that highlighted Barbados Pride’s rain-affected victory by 17 runs under the Duckworth/Lewis Method against Hampshire at the Windward Cricket Club. The victory confirmed their place in next week’s semi-finals.
Chase’s attractive 105 off 120 balls guided the Pride to a handy total of 253 for six off 49.1 overs – an innings cut short by five balls because of rain that delayed Hampshire’s response to a revised target of 250 in 45 overs.
More showers in the afternoon, accompanied by strong winds that combined to make it uncomfortably chilly on occasions, caused the target to be amended to 198 in 31 overs, and Hampshire were 107 for five off 20.3 overs when the third and final stoppage at 4:50 p.m. ended the match.
It was Barbados Pride’s sixth win in seven outings and cemented the defending champs’ place in the semis in Antigua, before they play their final match against Combined Campuses And Colleges Marooners on Saturday at Kensington Oval.
Hampshire, who lost for the fifth time in six matches, made an enterprising start, scoring at six runs an over for the first nine overs to keep pace with the run-rate, but their progress was thwarted by a tight spell from Jason Holder and three wickets from off-spinner Ashley Nurse.
The 25-year-old Chase’s first regional limited-overs hundred entertained a fair-size crowd at the cosy ground. The tall right-hander, who made three half-centuries before his ton, carried his aggregate in the tournament to 385 runs at an average of 64.16 and a strike rate of 94.36 – figures that will be hard to ignore when the West Indies selectors next meet.
Chase featured in two significant stands after the Pride were sent in against a Hampshire attack admirably led by former Barbados and West Indies fast bowler Fidel Edwards’ four-wicket haul.
After Edwards claimed two early wickets, one with a lifting ball that opener Omar Phillips gloved to the ’keeper, Chase and captain Kraigg Brathwaite added 95 off 133 balls for the third wicket.
The stand was broken when Edwards came back for a second spell to bowl Brathwaite off the inside edge as he aimed to pull. The Pride captain fell for 42 off 80 balls and is still searching for his first half-century of the tournament.
It brought in Shamar Springer for his first limited-overs match in senior Barbados colours and the champion West Indies Under-19 all-rounder from two years ago batted with aplomb in scoring 49 off 56 balls while adding 117 in 112 balls with Chase.
Springer, one of four new faces in a line-up that didn’t include departing West Indies trio of Shai Hope, Carlos Brathwaite and Kemar Roach, looked set for a half-century before trying to cut an uncuttable ball and giving a catch to backward point.
As Hampshire started their chase, it always looked likely there would be further interruptions, prompting an aggressive approach from their batsmen. It was led by opener Joe Weatherly’s unbeaten 54 off 70 balls.
Barbados opted to use the new ball with rookies Chemar Holder and Dominic Drakes. Chemar claimed the first scalp by way of a catch at the wicket to Tevyn Walcott, who looked tidy on debut while effecting three dismissals, including a neat stumping.
With the rain threatening, Brathwaite brought himself on to quickly bowl the 20th over that was needed to constitute a match. Only three balls were bowled in the next over before the players went off for the final time. (HG)
