Trinidad and Tobago Trial: Patience comes to naught (8 January 1999)

8 January 1999

Trinidad and Tobago Trial: Patience comes to naught

By Garth Wattley

A damp spot in the outfield delayed proceedings by half an hour. Then rain cut off the end 40 minutes early.

The sprinkling of greying watchers had been robbed of their full money's worth. So too were North and national skipper Ian Bishop.

For the first two hours of the 1999 Gerry Gomez North/South Classic, the captain, having seen South counterpart David Williams win the toss and insert his side, watched his openers Leon Romero and Imran Jan patiently lay a foundation worth 55 runs.

But by the time the 4.20 p.m shower drove the players off, that base had been considerably eroded.

A total of 125 for 8 was terribly anti-climatic. It was not the stuff for which the national selectors sitting in the pavilion, Bishop and his colleagues on their balcony or the die-hards who had watched through the first 139 minutes had hoped.

Busta Cup preparation time, after all, is short. But Williams will not be complaining that steady Mukesh Persad was rewarded with his second four-wicket haul in as many matches.

The off-spinner's patience and perseverance on a slow Oval track proved greater than that of the North batsmen, despite the admirable example set at the start.

Romero and Jan, two youngsters given the chance literally to set the pace, went slowly. But very steadily.

Largely resisting the temptation to err on the side of adventure in pursuit of quick runs on a heavy outfield. But finding some difficulty to get the ball away, they opted for caution, intent mainly on occupation. Only 30 runs came in the hour-and-half before lunch, the greatest alarm being a life for Jan.

Williams, having failed to make the breakthrough with the fast attack of Marlon Black and Theodore Modeste, turned to Persad and Avidesh Samaroo. That proved no more successful.

Several more quick singles would have given more compelling evidence of their hard work. But Jan had made just a meagre 17 before, after two hours and 19 minutes, his concentration failed him.

Dennis Rampersad's superb, sprawling one-handed catch in the slips was the left-hander's punishment for again hanging his bat out to a Black delivery, wide enough outside offstump to be left alone.

This would be the first of two occasions on which Williams's recalling of Black paid dividends.

The next breakthrough, however, was made by Persad.

The more aggressive Romero had counted two foursincluding a pull through square-leg off Samaroo in his 32 (153 minutes)-before a tumbling bat/pad catch by Suruj Ragoonath at first slip did him in with the total on 59.

Promise was still a caterpillar. Although for 80 exciting minutes, Lincoln Roberts threatened to release the butterfly.

The strongly-built right-hander certainly made the ball fly during his uptempo stay. Both his sweetly-hit sixes were struck off Persad, the first a gloriously straight overhead hit in front of the pavilion, the second a sweep over the backward square fence.

Before this typical cameo ended, however, he had lost Richard Smith. On seven, and the score 79, he was caught close in by Anil Balliram off Persad, paying the penalty for playing across the line.

But pace again provided the answer for Williams at 107. This time, Modeste won a close lbw verdict against Roberts (31, two sixes, two fours) with one that shot through low. Tea was approaching.

But the interval did not spark a period of consolidation for the northerners. No one, not Vishal Persad-Maharaj caught one-handed at forward short-leg by the lunging Balliram, not Zaheer Ali (10) caught behind off Persad's faster ball, not wicketkeeper Mark Ramkissoon, lbw to Black nor Bishop bowled trying to sweep Samaroo, was able to steady the innings.

Ken Hazel and Asif Jan were the ones trying to put things right again when the rains came. Maybe the showers were a needed respite. And this morning, nine, ten and jack will be attempting to throw the South team a joker and somehow restore order.

Source :: The Trinidad Express (https://www.trinidad.net/express/)