BIRMINGHAM—Captain Jason Mohammed struck a fluent hundred but West Indies A started their tour of England on a losing note with a heavy 131-run defeat to Warwickshire on Sunday.
Asked to chase a mammoth 386 at Edgbaston, the tourists were dismissed for 254 in the 41st over despite Mohammed’s sensational 102 from 93 deliveries.
Wicketkeeper Devon Thomas struck 30 and West Indies senior team all-rounder Rovman Powell, 28, but Windies A lost their last four wickets for just 36 runs to decline rapidly at the end.
Debutant 21-year-old fast bowler Daniel Douthwaite (3-43) and new-ball partner Oliver Hannon-Dalby (3-55) both claimed three wickets apiece, along with off-spinner Alex Thomson (3-53).
Captain Jason Mohammed … struck an exhilarating century in a losing cause. (file photo)
Captain and opener Dominic Sibley had earlier struck a top score of 115 while left-hander Will Rhodes stroked 69 and Ed Pollock and Matthew Lamb, 47 apiece, to lead Warwickshire’s assault.
Sibley put on 72 off 42 deliveries for the first wicket with Pollock who smashed seven fours and three sixes in a 24-ball cameo, before adding 50 for the second wicket with Andrew Umeed who made 28.
However, it was a 138-run, third wicket stand between Sibley and Rhodes which opened the floodgates for the hosts.
Right-hander Sibley struck 10 fours and four sixes off just 103 deliveries while Rhodes, a 23-year-old left-hander, counted six fours and three sixes in a 58-ball knock.
Both, however, fell in the space of 10 balls but Lamb and Thomson kept the scoreboard ticking in a 47-run, fifth wicket partnership.
Left-arm pacer Dominic Drakes (2-74) and new-ball speedster Oshane Thomas (2-91) both led the Windies attack but proved expensive.
Hannon-Dalby and Douthwaite then quickly reduced Windies A to 47 for three in the seventh over before Mohammed arrived to dominate.
He put on 27 for the fourth wicket with Sunil Ambris (8) before adding 58 with Powell for the fifth wicket and a further 60 with Thomas for the seventh.
All told, Mohammed crunched nine fours and five sixes, before he was seventh out in the 33rd over with the score on 218.
West Indies will play their second one-day match of the tour on Tuesday when they take on Worcestershire at New Road.
The two matches are warm-ups for the Tri-Nations Series involving hosts England Lions and India A, which begins Friday. (CMC)
