Sunil Narine's brilliance with both bat and ball couldn't stop the Guyana Jaguars from winning the inaugural UDECOTT/TTCB T10 International Cricket Tournament at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA) in Tarouba, San Fernando on Sunday evening.
Led by Christopher Barnwell's 44, the Jaguars scored a healthy 130 for seven in its 10 overs against North/Tobago. The hosts won the toss and asked their opponents to bat first. Though the Jaguars lost wickets consistently, they were able to put together solid partnerships.
When Rayad Emrit delivered the breakthrough three overs into the innings with Trevon Griffith cleaned bowled for 18, Barnwell began to rip apart the North/Tobago bowlers. He smashed 44 runs from 18 balls, hammering three boundaries and four sixes. After he put on a quick 25-run partnership with Hemraj, he was joined by wicket-keeper Anthony Bramble. Both put on 37 runs with the latter hitting four boundaries of his own.
When Barnwell 's knock ended at the hands of Emrit, Bramble picked up where the aggressive right-hander left off. He spanked 25 runs from 14 balls. Though Narine pulled the match back for his side near the end of the innings, taking three wickets for 33 runs, the Jaguars had put on a strong batting performance.
Narine then assumed leadership with the bat for North/Tobago, who were chasing 131 for victory. Together with Mario Belcon, the T20 star put on 62 runs for the opening partnership. However, they found it hard to get the boundaries and so found themselves well behind the required run rate. When Belcon fell for 22, the hosts endured a slide. Narine followed two overs later for a well played for 44 runs from 21 balls. His knock included two boundaries and four sixes.
Big-hitting all-rounder Kieron Pollard hardly made a dent, scoring 25 from 13 while Dwayne Bravo was out for one. North Tobago could only muster 104 for five from its 10 overs, losing by 26 runs.
A few hours before, South/Central and the Windward Islands Volcanoes met in the third-place playoff. The former cruised to a seven-wicket victory to finish third in the tournament. After being put into bat first, Andre Fletcher was the backbone of his side's batting.
The Grenadian bludgeoned the bowling, scoring 53 runs from 29 balls. He smashed five sixes and four boundaries, batting close to half the innings. However, he hardly got support from his teammates. The Windwards consistently lost wickets. Kavem Hodge had the next highest score for his side of 13 as the visitors ended on 103 for five from its 10 overs. Mark Deyal was the pick of the bowlers for South/Central with three for 16.
In response, Nicholas Sookdeosingh's quickfire 40 propelled his side to victory. His knock only took 21 balls, hitting four boundaries and two sixes. Along with Kjorn Ottley, who scored 24, the opening stand put on 48 runs. Jason Mohammed's unbeaten 13 steered his side to victory as the hosts got to 107 for three in 9.3 overs.
Summary Scores
Final
Guyana Jaguars 130/7 (10 ov). C Barnwell 44, C Hemraj 27, A Bramble 25; S Narine 3-33, R Emrit 2-22. North/Tobago 104/5 (10 ov). S Narine 44, K Pollard 25; K Paul 2-14, R Shepherd 2-25. Guyana Jaguars won by 26 runs.
Third place playoff:
Windward Islands 103/5 (10 ov). A Fletcher*+ 53; M Deyal 3-16. South/Central 107/3 (9.3 ov). N Sookdeosingh 40, K Ottley 24; A Athanaze 2-6. South/Central won by seven wickets.