T&T Red Force will look for their 11th regional limited overs title today, when they face Guyana in the finals of the 2015 Nagico Super50 Challenge at the Queen's Park Oval in Port-of-Spain from 1.30 pm.
Red Force got the better of the Combined Colleges and Campuses (CCC) in the semi-finals on Friday night by 41 runs, on the back of some excellent bowling, after their batting failed to shine. Batting first, T&T made 159 all out in 31.2 of their allotted 32 overs. The man leading the way was Jason Mohammed, who scored 48. The pick of the batsmen for T&T was however young Jeremy Solozano who scored a smooth 37.
Chasing what should have been a gettable score, of 156 under the D/L system, the students' inexperience showed, as the T&T boys proved too much on the night. Medium pacer Kevon Cooper was simply brilliant, seaming the ball beautifully on a helpful pitch. The CCC could not get the required momentum going and wickets fell at regular intervals. Cooper started the rot and finished with 2/13 off seven impressive overs. Fellow seamers Ravi Rampaul 3/17 and Dwayne Bravo 3/22, were also very good on the night and CCC stood no chance.
Earlier, CCC won the toss and asked T&T to take strike. The decision paid immediate dividends as T&T lost opener Evin Lewis for a "duck" with the score on one. As Lewis was walking off the rain came down and after 1.3 overs the blue covers were on.
The rain played cat and mouse with the Oval staff for a while until finally giving way to play in late evening and the game was reduced to a 32-over per side affair. Jeremy Solozano making his debut in 50 overs regional cricket, played well and looked the part. He and Darren Bravo showed aggressive intent and took the score to 34, when the latter tried one big shot too many and fell for 13.
Dwayne Bravo entered the arena to a grand applause but lasted only one ball, as Christopher Powell also sent him back. At 34 for three a partnership was needed and it came in the form of Solozano and Jason Mohammed. They made run scoring an easy pastime, until a mix-up saw the demise of the left-handed Solozano for 37. He faced 52 balls, striking five fours and a six. Keiron Pollard came and went for 10 with the score at 111.
...Emrit confidentgoing into clash
Meanwhile, T&T skipper Rayad Emrit is confident that his boys can pull off the win against Guyana today. "We are quietly confident that we can take this title. We are a team packed with very good players and once the guys keep focus on the job at hand, I see no reason why we can't go on and win this title.
"Last year we reached the finals against Barbados, only to let our fans down but this time around it will be a different story. We are hungry for success and we want to win this title. We have prepared long for this and we are just one game away from being crowned champions."
The all rounder was a bit concerned over the batting: "Our batting has not been what we would like, so the guys have to understand where they made mistakes and try to correct it. They need to understand the game position and bat accordingly."
SCOREBOARD
T&T Red Force vs CCC
Red Force inns
E Lewis c Walton b Mayers 0
J Solozano run out 37
DM Bravo c Cottoy b C Powell 13
DJ Bravo lbw C Powell 8
J Mohammed c Hodge b Cottoy 48
K Pollard c Thomas b Cottoy 10
K Cooper c Cottoy b C Powell 2
S Katwaroo c Burton C Powell 7
S Narine c Thomas b Mayers 11
R Emrit b C Powell 10
R Rampaul not out 1
Extras 17w, 3lb 20
Total all out 159
Fall of wkts: 1, 34, 34, 90,111, 125, 134, 134, 157, 159.
Bowling: K Mayers 5.2-0-37-3, C Powell 7-0-22-5, R Austin 2-0-12-0, K Hodge 7-0-26-0, R Powell 4-0-37-0, K Cottoy 6-0-22-2.
CCC inns
S Thomas b Rampaul 5
P Palmer c Pollard b Palmer 37
K Hope lbw Rampaul 2
W Walton b Cooper 20
K Hodge b Cooper 7
C Burton c Emrit b Rampaul 20
K Mayers c Lewis b Bravo 2
R Powell c DM Bravo b Narine
C Powell c Mohammed b Bravo 5
K Cottoy not out 3
R Austin b Bravo 0
Extras 7w, 1b 8
Total all out 114
Fall of wkts: 13, 15, 51, 72, 78, 99,104, 109, 112, 114.
Bowling: D Bravo 5.4-0-22-3, R Rampaul 6-0-17-3, S Narine 6-0-20-2, R Emrit 3-0-24-0, K Cooper 7-0-13-2, J Mohammed 3-0-17-0.
Result: T&T won by 41 runs under the DL method.