By Anthony Foster, Freelance WriterTRINIDAD & TOBAGO's Test paceman Mervyn Dillon and Fernix Thomas of the Windward Islands were struck by lightning during yesterday's abandoned Red Stripe Bowl fixture at Kensington Oval.
Both players spent last night at the University Hospital. The liaison officer for the Trinidad & Tobago team, Ephraim McLeod, said the players were up, talking and laughing when he left the hospital at about 4:40 p.m. yesterday.
"The doctor (Dr. Mohammed) said it was not anything serious but he would keep them overnight for observation," McLeod said.
Dillon and Shazam Babwah, who hit a masterful unbeaten 103 off 99 balls, were leading a Trinidad & Tobago fightback after the side was struggling at 47 for seven when the lightning struck.
Everyone was caught by surprise as the ground was bathed in bright sunshine.
Dillon (16 runs) was on strike and Thomas at the top of his mark when it hit at 12:22 p.m. Trinidad & Tobago by then had recovered to 111 without further loss and ultimately finished at 198 for seven.
The lightning first hit Dillon, who went down slowly, while Thomas ran up and down before he too fell to the ground.
Thomas later said he felt a heat at the back of his neck. Dillon, who did not say anything for a couple minutes, pointed to the left side of his head where he felt the effects.
The match was abandoned due to persistent rain after the lunch break and both sides collected two points, which was enough for Trinidad to go through to the semis of Zone A with Jamaica.
After winning the toss, Trinidad & Tobago's captain, Daren Ganga, had no hesitation in electing to bat, a decision he must have regretted as the side slumped to 47 for seven.
With just seven runs on the board, Andy Jackson, three, hooked pacer Thomas to Romel Currency at backward square leg and in the next over, Ganga edged Cameron Cuffy into the gloves of Junior Murray without scoring.
Imran Jan, 12, and Brian Lara, 13, carried their team to 33 at which stage the latter became the second square-leg victim, caught by Currency off Darren Sammy.
Things did not get any better for the Trinidadians when Kenroy Peters had Jan providing Olanzo Jackson with another square-leg catch. Sammy, in devastating form, had Dwayne Bravo, one, giving Rawl Lewis catching practice at first slip before uprooting the stumps of Aneil Kanhai and Dave Mohammed for zero.
Play was abandoned without a ball being bowled between hosts Antigua & Barbuda and the University team at the Antigua Recreation Ground yesterday.
Each team collected two points.
Next matches (Sat., October 11): Zone A - Canada vs Rest of Leewards at Melbourne Oval, Kingston; Zone B - Barbados vs Young West Indies at the ARG, St. John's.
