Members of the West Indies 'A' team
LEICESTER, England (CMC):
West Indies A had a profitable opening day against Leicestershire yesterday and will enter day two of the three-day fixture in a strong position against the English County team.
Leicestershire tumbled to 205 all out and West Indies had moved to 58 without loss by the close of play at Grace Road with opening batsmen Devon Smith (27) and Lendl Simmons (22) looking untroubled.
Fast bowler Andrew Richard-son and off-spinner Omari Banks grabbed three wickets each to lead the West Indies bowling as the touring side set the platform for a second consecutive win.
Leicestershire Comeback
Leicestershire captain Darren Maddy, who has played three Tests and eight One Day International (ODI) matches for England, won the toss and chose to bat, but had an immediate jolt when Richardson removed Steven Clarke with the fourth ball of the innings without a run on the board.
Leicestershire rallied well with a second-wicket stand of 110 between Jim Allenby (46) and Tom New (59), but they suffered another slide when the pair was separated.
New's half-century knock contained 10 boundaries and Allenby struck seven fours before left-arm spinner Ryan Hinds trapped him leg before wicket.
Allenby's dismissal triggered a swift slump as Richardson struck a double blow to dislodge Paul Harrison first-ball and New, as Leicestershire slid from 110 for one to 115 for four.
Batting at No.7, South African Claude Henderson hit 34 to boost the late order effort but Banks and medium pacer Richard Kelly ensured there was no significant flourish from the tail enders and the home side just barely got past the 200-mark.
Banks finished with tidy figures of three for 36 off 14 overs, while Richardson snared three for 54 off 13 overs and Kelly picked up two for 21 off 7.2 overs.
Smith and Simmons then moved the West Indies reserves to within 147 runs of Leicestershire's score with all 10 wickets in hand.
West Indies A made some changes to their team that beat Durham by eight wickets in their opening match last weekend, replacing batsman Sewnarine Chattergoon, and bowlers Dave Mohammed, Tino Best and Daren Powell.
