T&T puts sound licking on students

T&T’s Red Force blew past the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) to book a place in the semifinals of the Nagico Super50 series yesterday.

After an impressive bowling performance in which ‘Man of the Match’ Jason Mohammed and skipper Dwayne Bravo played leading roles, T&T batsmen plundered the CCC bowling to storm to a comprehensive seven-wicket victory.

Having won the toss, the students never applied themselves in pursuit of a competitive total and were dismissed for just 98, with 34 balls left in their innings. It took T&T just 16.2 overs to race to victory with Evin Lewis hustling his way to 44 from just 27 balls while Lendl Simmons blasted 38 form 41 balls.

The pair added 65 for the first wicket before Lewis sliced Kevan Hodge to point and Simmons went for a big shot five runs away from the target but dragged the ball onto his stumps. Adrian Barath’s rotten form continue when he was caught and bowled by Stephen Jacobs for one. However, Mohammed who joined Darren Bravo (5) ended the game with a boundary.

Earlier, after Ravi Rampaul removed the CCC opener Chadwick Walton (2), Mohammed and Bravo sliced through the middle order with some controlled bowling, aided by some irresponsible batting.

Bravo bowled Kyle Corbin (6) to leave CCCC 29 for two and with the addition of one run, Mohammed removed Anthony Alleyne (18) with his first delivery as the students plunged to 30-3. 

Mohammed almost grabbed another wicket shortly after, but Dwayne Bravo, fielding at short mid wicket, failed to hold a straight-forward drive from his opposite number Jacobs.

The miss, however, was not costly, as the part time spinner got his second scalp in his third over when he bowled Jacobs as he advanced down the wicket and missed. At this stage, CCC were 42/4 after 15.1 overs, in desperate need of a partnership.

Barbadian cousins, Raymon and Floyd Reifer, led a mini recovery, taking the score to 66. However, Mohammed was having none of it, as he held on to a sharp chance off his own bowling to get rid of Floyd for a painful seven (39 balls).

Mohammed finished with figures of 10-1-19-3, much to the delight of his teammates and the crowd while Bravo also ended with the same 3-19.

The younger Reifer continued to battle on slowly, but with the score on 73, his innings came to an end, thanks to some brilliant fielding from Dwayne Bravo. Trying to steal a quick single, Reifer was beaten by a good pick up and direct hit from mid off. There was no resistance from the tail as Rayad Emrit (1-23) and Sunil Narine (1-14) mopped up the innings to leave their batsmen the simple task of completing the victory.

The win put the Red Force on ten points while the CCC ended with seven, and will need the Leeward islands to beat Barbados today to earn a place in the semifinals.

The Bajans have six points and will need a victory to join T&T in the semifinals.

SCORECARD
CCC innings
C Walton lbw b R Rampaul    2
A Alleyne c Ramdin b Mohammed    18
K Corbin b D Bravo    6
R Reifer run out (D Bravo)    27
S Jacobs b J Mohammed    3
F Reifer c and b J Mohammed    7
K Hodge c D Ramdin b D Bravo    2
S Thomas lbw b D Bravo    1
K Mayers b R Emrit    19
A Dewar c D Ramdin b S Narine    2
K Williams  not out    1
Extras (5w 5lb)     10
Total (44.2 overs)    98 
Fall of wickets: 10, 29, 30, 42, 66, 72, 72, 73, 81, 98
Bowling: R Rampaul 7-2-18-1, Dwayne Bravo 10-4-19-3, S Narine 10-2-14-1, J Mohammed 10-1-19-3, R Emrit 7.2-0-23-1
T&T Inns
L Simmons b Dewar     38
E Lewis c Thomas b Hodge    44
D. Bravo not out    5
A Barath c & b Jacobs    1
J Mohammed not out    5 
Extras    7
Total (for 3 wkts 16.2 overs)    100 
Fall of wickets: 65, 94, 95
Bowling: K Mayers 2-0-17-0, Williams 4-0-25-0, Jacobs 4-1-16-1, Reifer 1-0-10-0, Hodge 2-0-16-1, Dewar 3.2-0-9-1
Results: T&T won by seven wickets