FALMOUTH, Jamaica, CMC – Darren Bravo struck the first hundred of this year’s WICB Regional One-day competition to trump a resolute innings from Floyd Reifer, and lead reigning champions Trinidad & Tobago to an eight-wicket victory yesterday.
Bravo struck five fours and six sixes in an undefeated 104 from 121 balls to earn the Man-of-the-Match award, as T&T, chasing 201 for victory from their allocation of 50 overs, reached the target with 41 balls to spare in their opening match of the competition at Kensington Park.
Bravo reached his milestone from 120 balls, with a deuce to third man off Gilford Moore, and shared in two vital partnerships. He put on 59 for the second wicket with opener Adrian Barath to put T&T on course, and then helped formalise the result in an unbroken stand of 125 for the third wicket with Daren Ganga.
Barath supported with 41 from 66 balls that included two fours and one six, and Ganga made 36 not out from 60 balls enhanced by three fours.
T&T had early control of the match before the left-handed Reifer stroked six fours and two sixes in 99 from 108 balls to anchor the CCC to 200 for eight from their 50 overs.
The other batsman to concern T&T’s bowlers was Currency with 49 from 104 balls, including a pair of fours, in a stand of 114 for the third wicket with Reifer. But Ravi Rampaul collected four wickets for 36 runs from 10 overs, and Kieron Pollard two for five from one over to wobble the CCC batting the rest of the way.
T&T then suffered an early setback, when Dwayne Bravo, Darren’s elder brother, was caught behind off Gilford Moore for four.
Bravo hit three sixes in the ninth and eventually final over of T&T-born left-arm spinner Kavesh Kantasingh to hasten his arrival to his hundred, which he celebrated with a silky cover drive for four off Moore from the only ball he faced after reaching the landmark.
Earlier, T&T had CCC under early pressure, when T&T-born opener William Perkins was caught at short cover off Samuel Badree or 14, and left-hander Omar Phillips was caught at mid-off for five to leave the students 24 for two.
Reifer joined Currency, and they repaired the early damage with their partnership, but Dwayne Bravo made the breakthrough for T&T.
The West Indies all-rounder had Currency caught at long-on, and this triggered a collapse that the CCC lose six wickets for 62 runs.
No other batsman reached 20, as Rampaul and Pollard floored the opposing batsmen in the closing overs.