By Marlon Munroe
Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) comprehensively defeated defending champions Jamaica by four wickets in the final to lift the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Senior Women’s Challenge 50-over tournament trophy at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground yesterday.
At a time where Jamaicans are dominating proceedings at the IAAF World Athletics Championships and have swept all regional tournaments this year, their demise came when they only put 116 runs on the tins for T&T to chase. T&T eventually breezed to 117-6 from 40.2 over with player-of-the-match Whitney Cudjoe scoring an unbeaten 54 that contained nine sweetly-timed boundaries.
Jamaica’s highest scorer was opening batter Jody Ann Morgan who made 20 whilst Chinelle Henry and Karla Cohen contributed 16 runs each.
In addition, there were 23 extras that propped up the total. Jamaica at one time were reeling at 88-7, with three of their batters failing to get off the mark, after they won the toss and batted.
Some frustration even stepped in for Jamaica when Cohen was caught by Kirbyina Alexander (114-8) off the bowling of Gaitri Seetahal and broke a plant pot as she returned to the pavilion. Subsequently, Amanda Samaroo removed Roshana Outar and Peta-Gaye Hanson for ducks.
Anisa Mohammed who was adjudged the best bowler of the tournament with 11 wickets
grabbed three wickets for 26 runs. Her twin sister Alisa also took three wickets while Samaroo got two and MVP of the tournament Britney Cooper and Gaitri Seetahal picked up a wicket each.
Samaroo claimed three wickets in the tournament and scored 152 runs averaging 50.67.
When T&T responded their initial running between the wickets, as it was throughout the tournament was erratic. This resulted in Samaroo (13; 2×4) being run out again as was the case in the semi-final against Barbados attempting a suicidal run and Devika Singh run out for nought.
T&T reached 28-4 when a 28-run partnership ensued with Cudjoe and Stacy-Ann King who made five. When the score was 63 T&T lost their captain Marissa Agullera, who ended the tournament with the most ducks (six).
Cudjoe continued to bat positively and with Anisa thumping the bowlers over the infield, brought up her half century from 68 balls. Anisa played the perfect foil as she turned the strike over in her innings of 14 that included one boundary.
Shanel Daley and Vanessa Watts were the pick of the bowlers grabbing 2-34 and 2-20 respectively.
Subsequently, T&T captain Aguillera stated that team spirit and the unity among members of the team were responsible for winning the tournament. In addition, she stated that she expected the game against Jamaica to be an easy one.
Aguillera reasoned that their hardest game was always going to be against the Barbados team since there are five West Indies players in the squad. She also noted that she was a bit disappointed with her and some of the senior players’ performances in the tournament but said that the team has players that can always rise to the occasion and perform on any given day.
Manager Marjorie Thomas said that that hard work and early preparation were the key to winning the championship. She also stated that Jamaica “played right into their (T&T) hands” when Jamaica batted first because she knew that her bowlers were going to restrict them and that T&T would have been able to chase any score.
Barbados’ Pamela Lavine, who was the only centurion in the tournament, scored 202 runs.
