CRICKET-LEAD Red Force, Pride strengthen positions at halfway stage.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – The Trinidad and Tobago Red Force and Barbados Pride both built on their advantages and are firmly in control of their third-round contests against the Leeward Islands Hurricanes and Jamaica Scorpions, respectively, in the West Indies Championship following the end of the second day’s play.

Skipper Joshua Da Sliva slammed a double century and pacer Anderson Phillip grabbed two wickets to put the Red Force in a good position to earn a sizeable first innings lead over the Hurricanes.

Meanwhile, Roston Chase and Joshua Bishop spun a web around the Jamaica Scorpions, leaving them to follow on.

Elsewhere, the Guyana Harpy Eagles and Windward Islands Volcanoes are locked in an intriguing battle.

At the Antigua Recreation Ground in Antigua, A magnificent double century from captain Joshua Da Silva propelled his side to a mammoth first innings total against the Leeward Islands Hurricanes.

Da Silva smashed a career-best 220 to lead his side to 522 for nine declared, their highest total of the tournament to date.

Fast bowler Anderson Phillip then took two early wickets to reduce the Hurricanes to 88 for four at the close of play, to leave them trailing by 434 runs.

The day belonged to Da Silva, who resumed on 72 not out with the score on 247 for three.

His partner Amir Jangoo added just 14 runs to his overnight total of 69 before offspinner Rahkeem Cornwall dismissed him. Evin Lewis, who retired hurt on the opening day, was then run out two runs later to leave the Red Force 291 for five.

Da Silva arrived at his third first-class century in fortuitous circumstances, inside edging fast bowler Oshane Thomas to the fine leg boundary for four off his 183rd delivery.

He also shared a partnership of 132 with Terrance Hinds for the sixth wicket, which tightened their grip on the contest.

Red Force lost the wickets of Hinds for 44, Khary Pierre for 14, and Joshua James for 15, but Da Silva found a capable partner in Phillip.

He reached his double century by dabbing Karima Gore behind point for a quick single, and soon after, he overtook his previous highest score of 218.

Gore eventually dismissed Da Silva, his marathon knock spanning just over seven hours, and saw him face 304 balls and hit 20 fours and two sixes, prompting a declaration from the Red Force.

Gore ended with 4-86 and Oshane Thomas 2-70.

The Hurricanes could not have envisioned a worse start, losing both openers Mikyle Louis and Kofi James for ducks without a run on the board.

Gore and Keacy Carty steadied the innings during a partnership of 62, but the Hurricanes lost the wickets of Carty for 18 and Jewel Andrew for a duck, to slump to 63 for four.

Gore, though, finished on 60 not out and, along with captain Justin Greaves, will carry the brunt of the responsibility of helping them avoid the follow-on.

At Sabina Park in Jamaica, Spinners Roston Chase and Joshua Bishop shared nine wickets between them to put Barbados Pride in an excellent position to push for a crucial victory against the Jamaica Scorpions.

Resuming on their overnight score of 346 for five, the Pride would have been disappointed only to add 93 more runs to be bowled out for 439.

Chase added just two runs to his score of 82, while Leniko Boucher added a further 10 runs to reach an even half-century, before losing their wickets to pacer Marquino Mindley.

All-rounder Shamar Springer scored an unbeaten 45 and last man Jediah Blades made 21, with the two sharing a 63-run partnership for the last wicket to give the Pride some much-needed runs. Mindley (3-62) and Odean Smith (3-91) were the Scorpions’ best bowlers.

Chase then returned to grab five wickets with his off spin, while left-arm spinner Bishop took four to bundle the home side out for 142 in 51 overs. That total seemed unlikely when openers John Campbell and Kirk McKenzie were at the crease during a 61-run stand.

But once Chase ended the partnership by bowling Campbell for 36, the Scorpions’ innings unraveled spectacularly. Brandon King made just one before also being bowled by Chase, and Blades dismissed McKenzie for 31.

Bishop then joined in the action by trapping Brad Barnes lbw for two and also accounting for the wicket of Javelle Glenn, with Chase also dismissing Abhijai Mansingh and Peat Salmon to see the Scorpions slide to 126 for seven.

The duo then wrapped up the tail in quick order to leave the Scorpions 297 runs short of the Pride’s total, with skipper Kraigg Brathwaite expectedly enforcing the follow-on. Chase finished with 5-28 while Bishop claimed 4-31.

The Scorpions then suffered a nightmare start when they lost Campbell to the third ball of the innings, bowled by Bishop for a duck. They eventually labored to 22 for one in their second innings, still needing a further 275 runs to make the Pride bat again.

At the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua, the contest between defending champions and table leaders Guyana Harpy Eagles and the Windward Islands Volcanoes is shaping up to be an exciting contest at the halfway stage.

The Volcanoes conceded a slender 19-run first innings lead to their opponents after they were dismissed for 223 in response to the Harpy Eagles’ 242. They, however, struck back to claim two late wickets as the Harpy Eagles ended day two on 44 for two, an overall lead of 63.

While the match is evenly balanced, the Volcanoes would no doubt be disappointed with their batting performance after they wasted a productive start from their top order.

Resuming on 22 for one, Stephan Pascal and Kavem Hodge carried their side to 95 for one during a 93-run partnership. When Gudakesh Motie dismissed Pascal for 43, Johann Jeremiah and Hodge maintained the momentum, taking them to 140 without further loss.

However, following the dismissal of Jeremiah for 16, the Volcanoes lost the wickets of Hodge for 74 off 115 balls and Shadrack Descarte in quick succession to crumble to 177 for five.

The Volcanoes only got up to their eventual total thanks to an unbeaten, even half-century from Alick Athanaze, who scored 50 off 83 balls.

Despite his resistance, the Volcanoes lost their last five wickets for just 20 runs, meekly surrendering first-innings points.

Motie took 4-52, while Nial Smith (2-27) and Shamar Joseph (2-64) provided support. The Harpy Eagles didn’t get off to the best of starts in their second innings, losing Matthew Nandu and Kevlon Anderson cheaply.

However, Tagenarine Chanderpaul and captain Tevin Imlach took them to the close of play with no further alarms.

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