Opener Kyle Ramdoo’s 101 was not enough to avoid defeat on Tuesday, as the Red Force Trial Team B defeated Team A by one run at the National Cricket Centre, Balmain, Couva on Tuesday.
Team B decided to bat first after Captain Bryan Charles called right at the toss. They lost Jeremy Solozano for 11 with the score on 43 in the 10th over, caught by Vikash Mohan and bowled by Mikkel Govia. Cephas Cooper then joined Shatrughan Rambaran, and together they added a further 43 runs. They were separated with the dismissal of Rambaran, who is searching for his maiden Red Force call after suiting up for the Combined Campuses and Colleges last season. Rambaran scored 61 from 55 balls that included four fours and three sixes. He was caught by Dejourn Charles to give Mikkel Govia his second of three wickets.
Crystian Thurton then joined Cooper and took the score from 86 and carried it to 143. The partnership yielded 57 runs before Thurton departed for 31, when he was caught and bowled by West Indies all-rounder Navin Bidaisee. Wicketkeeper Daniel Williams made only two, but his dismissal introduced a partnership between Cooper and Yannic Cariah that provided an innings-best of 86 that took the score to 242 for five.
Cooper was finally dismissed, caught by wicket-keeper Kyle Ramdoo off the bowling of Shaaron Lewis for a top score of 88. He hit two fours and six sixes in his knock.
Cariah remained not out on 48 as Team B closed on 292 for 7 from their 50 overs.
Team A’s reply started brightly, as openers Kamil Pooran and Kyle Ramdoo not only put together a fifty-plus partnership but also did so at a run rate of almost 10 runs per over. They were separated when Pooran was caught by Williams to give under-20 player Abdul Raheem Toppin his only wicket of the innings. Pooran made an aggressive 38 from 18 balls that contained four sixes and two fours.
His dismissal brought a sudden decline in the run rate, as the next nine overs and five balls saw only 30 runs scored between Tion Webster (23) and Ramdoo. Webster’s wicket came with the score on 95 in 16.3 overs and opened the way for Leonardo Julien to partner Ramdoo. Julien, who was backup to West Indies wicketkeeper and captain Shai Hope during the One Day International series against England in December 2023, scored 26 and shared in a 62-run stand with Ramdoo. It ended when Julien edged Cariah to Williams at 157 for three. Without any addition to the score, Vikash Mohan edged to Williams for his third catch and Cariah’s second wicket.
Still 135 runs adrift and 21.4 overs in order to get the runs, Bidaisee (44) joined Ramdoo, and they added 81 before Rambaran broke through Bidaisee’s defence when the score was 238 and 54 runs behind.
Three runs later, Ramdoo departed for a top score of 101; he faced 130 balls and hit six fours and five sixes. Team A plunged into further problems with two quick wickets and were 248 for eight in 44.1 overs. Team A lost four wickets for ten runs in the space of two overs and one ball.
A 43-run partnership between Govia and Toppin brought the A team within one run, but Mark Deyal proved to be the hero with the ball and had Govia caught by Joshua James for 37 (291 for 6), and two balls later, with the score still on 291, had Shaaron Lewis caught by Rambaran to restrict Team A to 291 all out in 48.4 overs for the one-run win.
SUMMARISED SCORES
Red Force Trial Match Team B: 292 /7 (50 overs) (Cephas Cooper 88; Shatrughan Rambaran 61; Yannic Cariah 48*; Mikkel Govia 3-44; Shaaron Lewis 2-44) vs Red Force Trial Match Team A: 291 (48.4 overs) (Kyle Ramdoo 101; Navin Bidaisee 44; Mark Deyal 2-42; Yannic Cariah 2-66)
Team B won by 1 run.
