Baugh biffs West Indies A to series win

West Indies A 183 for 6 (Baugh 71) beat England A 181 (Banks 3-32) by 4 wickets
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Carlton Baugh's blazing effort sealed the series © Getty Images Enlarge

Carlton Baugh stroked a belligerent half-century to lift West Indies A to a series-clinching four-wicket victory over England A at the Windward Club. Baugh, the dimunitive wicketkeeper-batsman, pulled West Indies A from a precarious 50 for 5 to help them to a target of 182 with ten overs to spare.

Omari Banks, the offspinner, had led the choke operation this morning, snaring three wickets and restricting England A to a modest 181. Marlon Samuels and Darren Sammy chipped in with two wickets apiece and, barring Alex Wharf's rapid 37, none of the batsmen found the going too easy.

West Indies A stumbled to 50 for 5, but were bailed out of trouble by Baugh. With the pressure on, Baugh lashed 71 off 73 balls with five fours and four sixes that eventually guided West Indies to a comfortable victory. It took them to a 3-2 series win after a fine 1-0 triumph in the two-match unofficial Test series. Baugh was especially severe on Gareth Batty, the offspinner, who he belted for three sixes and he thoroughly dominated a sixth-wicket partnership of 101 with Narsingh Deonarine.

Left-handed Deonarine, short of runs in the series, benefited from a vital missed stumping on 9 to finish on an unbeaten 34, while Darren Sammy rushed West Indies to victory by spanking 20 off just 16 balls with four boundaries. Baugh first signalled his intentions by lifting Batty over cover for his first six. The second also went over cover off the back foot against the same bowler, who was then lifted over midwicket.

His fourth six was his most memorable, charging fast medium Rikki Clarke and lifting him over extra-cover. Baugh eventually holed out to deep midwicket attempting a fifth six with 31 runs still needed, but there were no further alarms for West Indies.

Their early problems were caused by Sajid Mahmood, the tall fast bowler, who emerged as the leading wicket-taker in both the Tests and limited-overs series with 24 scalps overall. Mahmood, who finished with 3 for 34 in nine overs, had Lendl Simmons caught at the wicket, induced Marlon Samuels (19) into top-edging an attempted hook and had Sylvester Joseph (7) chipping a catch to cover.