T&T ensured themselves a place in the semifinal round of the regional Super50 tournament, when they defeated Combined Campuses and Colleges by eight wickets in their fourth match of the series at the Queen's Park Oval in Port-of-Spain last evening.
Scores: CCC 97 all out (37.5) vs T&T 98/2 (21.4).
The contest which promised more fizzled out into a one-sided show for the handful of fans who showed as the locals booked their fourth successive win the tournament with a ruthless display. Medium pacer Kevon Cooper snared 5/17 and leg-spinner Yannic Cariah took 3/14 to rout the CCC for just 97 in 37.5 overs and the Red Force batsmen then brought home the victory at 98 for one off 21.4 overs.
The win was so emphatic that T&T got a bonus point, as they won within 30 overs to secure a run rate 1.25 times that of the oppostion. With the win they moved on to 17 points from their four matches.
Set the simple task of getting 98 runs for victory, T&T had no anxious moments as it was more like batting practice. Before the scheduled dinner break, T&T reached 29 without loss after six overs and it was just a matter of time. After the break, they lost Lendl Simmons for 19 with the score at 40.
Justin Guillen joined a watchful Adrian Barath and they pushed the score along to 84 before the former fell for 16. Barath, who anchored the innings yet again, remained unbeaten on 40 when the victory came. He faced 69 balls and struck three fours and the only six of the match. At the other end was wicketkeeper Nicholas Pooran who was six not out.
Earlier, T&T skipper Dwayne Bravo called correctly at the toss and inserted the visitors on a green top at the nation's cricket Mecca. The local seam bowlers soon showed that the Students were not well equipped to deal with their offerings. The ball seamed generously and Bravo got the initial breakthrough by removing the dangerous Chadwick Walton for three. After that it was all Cooper, as he was able to extract great assistance from the pitch and in addition to varying his pace, he proved too much for the CCC batsmen.
At 51 for seven, the only interest at the ground centered around people's watches as they wondered if the day/night game would end up being a day affair. Kevin McLean, 26, and Jason Dawes, 13, offered a little resistance towards the end but the clinical T&T boys finished them off before they reached the three-figure mark.
The action continues on Saturday when the two teams meet in their four-day clash, also at the Oval.
SCOREBOARD
TT vs CCC
CCC inns
C Walton lbw Bravo 3
S Thomas lbw Cooper 18
K Corbin c Bravo b Cooper 6
F Reifer lbw Narine 12
R Reifer b Cooper 1
N Parris c Pollard b Cooper 3
N Alexis c Bravo b Cooper 0
J Dawes lbw Cariah 13
K McLean c Simmons b Cariah 26
R Austin c Pollard b Cariah 5
K Williams not out 0
Extras lb2, w7, nb1 10
Total all out (37.5ovs) 97
Fall of wkts: 11, 27, 41, 47, 51, 51,51, 73, 84, 97.
Bowling: D Bravo 7-0-27-1 (5w), R Rampaul 8-1-17-0 (1w, 1nb), K Cooper 10-3-17-5, (1w), S Narine 9-3-20-1, Y Cariah 3.5-0-14-3.
T&T inns
L Simmons c Walton b Reifer 19
A Barath not out 40
J Guillen c Walton b McLean 16
N Pooran not out 6
Extras w16, nb1 17
Total 2 wkts (21.4) 98
Fall of wkts: 40, 84.
Bowling: K Williams 5-1-21-0 (4w), K McLean 4.4-0-28-1 (3w, 1nb), R Reifer 6-0-25-1 (6w), J Dawes 3-0-17-0 (3w), R Austin 3-1-7-0.
Result: T&T won by 8 wkts.
Man-of-match: Kevon Cooper.
Scores:
Jamaica vs Leewards
JAMAICA 253 for four off 50 overs (Danza Hyatt 99, Tamar Lambert 77, Andre McCarthy 59; Kelbert Walters 1-46) vs LEEWARDS 196 all out off 44.4 overs (Sylvester Joseph 83, Tonito Willett 20; Andrew Richardson 3-23, Nikita Miller 3-30, Odean Brown 2-38, Yannick Elliott 2-49). Jamaica won by 57 runs.
