ROTHMAN'S all-island champions Melbourne were struggling at end of the rain-hit opening day of their County Cricket Championship game against Surrey B at Kensington Park yesterday.
Scores: Melbourne 166 for eight off 53 overs (Marlon Samuels 44, Robert Samuels 34 not out, Chris Chung 25; Lamar Wright 4-24, Darren Powell 2-31 and David Bernard Jnr. 2-24).
Surrey B won the toss and asked Melbourne to take first strike after the umpires decided to start play at 2:22 p.m. and immediately that had their opponents in trouble.
Without a run on the board, Aubrey Wollaston was clean bowled by Lamar Wright for nought. Llewelyn Meggs who had replaced Wollaston, did not last long, trapped leg before wicket by Darren Powell to a ball that kept a bit low when he had made four and the score was 11.
The attractive Marlon Samuels replaced Meggs and delighted the small gathering, driving with fluency and precision. The 19 year-old rattled up 44 good runs before he tried to force the pace and lifted offspinner David Bernard Jr. to Kerry Scott at midoff and was well caught at 73 for three.
Nine runs later, Chris Chung who had opened Melbourne's innings with Wollaston, and had batted patiently to compile 25 runs, lofted Bernard Jnr. to backward square-leg and was taken by Lamar Wright.
Donald Bennett and captain Robert Samuels were looking threatening in their fifth wicket stand, before the brilliance of Bernard Jnr. ended the partnership.
Bennett who had scored 19 runs and had put on 38 valuable runs with the captain, hit pacer Powell low and hard to square-leg but the lanky Bernard Jr. dived forward to take a spectacular catch and reduced Melbourne to 120-5.
Samuels, however was not prepared to let the bowlers dominate him and struck two huge sixes off Bernard Jr. in a brisk unbeaten 34. And although Ray Stewart (15), Donovan Samuels (7) and Colin Stewart (nought) all fell cheaply to Wright, the axed West Indies player had looked ominous when umpires offered light to the batsmen at 6:20 p.m.
At Port Esquivel: Defending champions Lucas were on the ropes against Middlesex in a match which also started late because of the rain.
Scores: Lucas: 102 for nine (Delroy Morgan 21, Royan Smith 18, Wayne Gayle 18, Andre Coley 13; Kevin Peart 4-42, Brenton Beckford 2-20).
At Alpart: Nicarlo McFarlene grabbed two wickets in his only over to put Surrey A in a bit of bother against Cornwall.
Scores: Cornwall 165 all out (Carl Wright 47, Kenroy Williams 25, Krishanna Edwards 21; Bevon Brown 3-33, Denville McKenzie 2-31, Howard Copeland 2-37), Surrey A 57 for two (Anthony Folkes 23, Keith Hibbert 29).
