An undefeated 75 from Man-of-the-Match Darren Bravo helped Trinidad and Tobago to an emphatic 78-run win over the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) Academy Under-23 XI in the first match of the TTCB Twenty20 Festival at Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre yesterday.
Bravo’s 56-ball knock led the senior team to an imposing 172 for three after T&T captain Daren Ganga won the toss and decided to bat first.
In reply, the Academy made 85 for five, with Nicholas Sookdeosingh top-scoring with 27.
It was a slow start for T&T who were pushed onto the back foot by left-arm pacer Daniel St Clair who removed both openers in his first two overs.
Adrian Barath was first to go, caught by Derone Davis for zero in the second over of the match, while Lendl Simmons was caught by Sookdeosingh for 10 in the fourth over as Trinidad and Tobago struggled to reach 32 for two.
Bravo and skipper Ganga then joined forces to consolidate the senior team’s position for the next five overs before they began their onslaught. They shared an 82-run partnership for the third wicket to get T&T back into the match.
The score was 60 for two at the halfway stage when the pair began to excite the small crowd.
Some good running and the odd boundary kept the score moving along as they reached 80 for two off 12 overs. Bravo then picked up two boundaries off Yannic Cariah before Ganga got into stride with three fours off Emile Rajah in the 14th over to take the score to 100 for two.
Bravo brought up his 50 in the 15th over but Trinidad and Tobago were still far from a competitive total. Ganga continued to show aggression but was eventually caught by Kevon Christmas off Yannick Ottley for 43 (35 balls, five fours), ending the partnership in the 16th over.
Denesh Ramdin (37 off 16 balls; three sixes, two fours) stepped in and made an immediate impact, launching Cariah for six off the second ball he faced.
He followed up with a square drive for six off Christmas and a straight six off St Clair to give T&T the edge.
The Academy also had a slow start but lacked the fire-power to accelerate their scoring when they needed to.
Ravi Rampaul kept openers Nicholas Alexis and Kieron Joseph on their toes, but it was Kevon Cooper who got the first breakthrough, removing the latter, caught behind by Ramdin for nine.
Alexis followed in the next over, caught by Ramdin off Imran Khan’s second ball of the match with the score on 27 for two in the eighth over.
They never recovered to challenge the senior team’s total as Ganga’s men ran away with three points. (Trinidad Express)
Guyana vs TT ‘A’
Guyana Inns
T Dowlin b Gabriel* 8
S Chanderpaul c Mohammed b Stewart* 12
R Sarwan c Mohammed b Gabriel* 0
S Jacobs b Stewart* 1
C Barnwell lbw Mohammed* 10
R Crandon b Bravo* 6
E Crandon b Emrit * 21
J Foo c Guillen b Emrit* 8
D Christian c Bravo b Emrit* 5
V Permaul run out* 0
A Stoll not out* 2
Extras lb12, b5, nb1* 18
Total all out 19.2ovs* 88
Fall of wkts: 20, 24, 30, 30, 44, 46, 81, 82, 82, 88.
Bowling: S Gabriel 4-0-22-2, N Stewart 4-1-12-2, D Mohammed 4-0-12-1, D Bravo 4-0-16-1, R Emrit 3.2-0-14-3.
T&T ‘A’
T Maraj run out* 1
E Lewis not out* 37
D Bravo c Christian b Barnwell* 44
J Guillen not out* 4
Extras b1, w4* 5
Total for 2 wkts in 15.1* 91
Fall of wkts: 2, 76,
Bowling: A Stoll 3-0-21-0, E Crandon 3-0-14-0, R Crandon 2-0-13-0, C Barnwell 2-0-15-1, S Jacobs 1.1-0-6-0, V Permaul 4-0-21-0.
Result:T&T ‘A’ won by 8 wickets.
Man-of-match: Dwayne Bravo.
T&T ‘A’ 3 pts, Guyana 0.
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