VETERAN middle order batter Jason Mohammed and rookie opener Cephas Cooper both missed out on centuries but the pair, along with Jyd Goolie, did enough to put the Southerners on solid footing on the opening day of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board North/South Classic at the National Cricket Centre in Balmain, Couva, yesterday.
After a shaky start with the bat, slipping to 28 for two in the tenth over, Cooper, who scored 80, and Mohammed, who made 91, put on a 149-run third-wicket partnership to help South recover to reach 177 for three before a final session collapse saw them being dismissed for 274.
Cooper, who had a watchful start when he opened the batting alongside Kamil Pooran, faced 149 balls and struck nine fours and two sixes in his three-and-a-half-hour stint in the middle, while Mohammed faced 132 balls and hit ten fours and a six in his three-hour stay in the middle.
Meanwhile, Goolie hit an unbeaten 60 off 86 balls and batted through the final session which was dominated by spinner Khary Pierre, who grabbed three for 81 and North skipper Vikash Mohan who took four for 56.
Pierre was instrumental in the early dismissal of Kjorn Ottley (12). His quick pick-up and throw from mid-off to break the century stand was a pivotal moment in the match.
Nothing the North bowlers were doing seemed to trouble Cooper and Mohammed, who negotiated the second hour of the first session and most of the post-lunch session to put South on top.
Philton Williams tried a few short balls against Cooper but lacked the pace to trouble the opener who pulled the pacer to backward point for his first boundary of the day.
Williams tried it again later in the innings, this time Cooper pulled for six. A drive for four through cover off the left-arm spin of Andrew Rambaran took Cooper to 44 and a cut for four off Pierre saw the right-hander reach 49 before single off Mohan took him to his half-century of 66 balls with South going to lunch at 93 for two.
Mohammed upped the pace after the break and brought up his 50 with a cut for four off Mohan (79 balls) as the third wicket partnership with Cooper went into triple figures.
Cooper offered a rare chance to Pierre when he was on 67, pushing at a ball that spun away from him and took the outside edge to Tion Webster at first slip, but the fielder couldn’t hold the catch.
Cooper’s eventual downfall came against the run of play, with the batter hitting the ball straight to Pierre at mid-off and taking off for a quick single before being turned back by Mohammed.
The batter put in the dive but was still short of his ground.
That brought Goolie to the middle and he put on 45 runs with Mohammed before Mohan found the edge of Mohammed’s forward defensive push that went straight to Dejourn Charles at slip with the score on 222 for four.
The innings went into decline after that, with the remaining six wickets falling for just 52 runs with none of the last six batters scoring more than five.
North will start their reply today against a bowling attack comprising veteran leg-spinner Imran Khan, who is the captain of the South team, off-spinner Bryan Charles and fast bowlers Anderson Phillip and Shaaron Lewis.
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