FORMER West Indies Twenty/20 World Cup winner Lendl Simmons finished on an unbeaten 105 on day one of Central Sports' TT Cricket Board (TTCB) National League Premiership I match against Clarke Road United on Saturday, giving his team first-innings honours in the round five match.
Bowling first at the Invaders recreation grounds in Felicity, table-toppers Central Sports showed off their mettle as they bowled out Clarke Road for a paltry score of 150. Off-spin bowler Alex Antoine was the chief destroyer for Central Sports as he finished the innings with remarkable figures of eight for 51 from 16 overs.
In their turn at the crease, Central Sports wasted little time in eclipsing their opponents' first-innings total as they closed day one on 305 for six - taking a 155-run lead into the second day's play.
Batting at number four, the elegant Simmons led the Central Sports charge as he struck seven fours and five sixes to bring up his ton before the end of play.
Opener Keagan Simmons (duck) fell to Clevon Kalalwan before Central Sports could put a run on the board, but their batsman dominated proceedings thereafter. TT Red Force opener Kjorn Ottley made 51, Barbados batsman Shayne Moseley contributed 31 and aggressive all-rounder Terrance Hinds struck 70 as the Central Sports batsmen had their way.
Hinds and Simmons were particularly severe on the Clarke Road bowlers, as they put on a 152-run partnership for the fifth wicket as they pushed their team's score well past Clarke Road's 150.
On Sunday, Central Sports will push for an outright win.
At the Queen's Park Oval in St Clair, the struggling Merry Boys team put themselves in a good position at the end of day one against defending champions QPCC.
In their first innings, QPCC were bowled out for a modest 238, with West Indies wicket-keeper/batsman Joshua Da Silva (54) and Sunil Narine (50) leading the way with the bat. Four Merry Boys bowlers took two wickets apiece, with Daniel Osouna (two for 13) being the pick of the bowlers.
At the close of play, Merry Boys were 85 runs short of QPCC's score as they ended on a respectable 153 for three. After wickets from Narine (two for 43) and West Indies pacer Jayden Seales (one for 24) left Merry Boys on 56 for three, the visitors got an unbeaten 97-run partnership from Darron Cruickshank and Samuel Felix to steady the ship.
Cruickshank, who accounted for the key scalps of Da Silva and the in-form Jyd Goolie with the ball, has four boundaries and the solitary six in his 51 so far, with Felix also hitting four boundaries to accumulate his 34.
At the Daren Ganga recreation ground in Barrackpore, Profilbau Victoria ended the day with a massive 124-run lead against Preysal.
Batting first, Victoria were bowled out for a modest 234, but they then left Preysal reeling at 110 for nine at the end of the day. Guyanese batsman Vishaul Singh led Victoria with a knock of 78, while Kyle Roopchand made a solid 53.
With the ball thus far, Avinash Mahibirsingh (five for 32) has proven to be a problem as he has ripp
