PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – West Indies captain Darren Sammy made his presence felt with bat and ball, helping to spur his Windward Islands to a convincing 42-run over winless Combined Campuses and Colleges and to their first points of the Caribbean Twenty20 here last night.
His sensible 32 from 28 balls bolstered the Windwards lower order, enabling them to reach 129 for seven off 20 overs, after they were sent in at Queen’s Park Oval.
Sammy then returned with his right-arm medium pace to pick up three for 17 as CCC plunged from the comfort of 47 for one in the eighth over to 87 all out off 18.5 overs, losing their last nine wickets for 40 runs.
The loss was CCC’s third and condemned them to the cellar position in the standings without a point, alongside the equally woeful Leeward Islands.
CCC appeared on course to change their luck, however, when captain Kyle Corbin (17) and opener Raymon Reifer (17) were busy adding 39 for the second wicket, after Chadwick Walton had been taken by Devon Smith at slip off Sammy in the second over.
Both batsmen played positively with the left-handed Reifer striking a four and a six off 18 balls and Corbin facing 24 balls and striking one boundary.
Reifer slapped Sammy to the cover boundary and then lifted left-arm quick Delorn Johnson over square leg for six and was beginning to look dangerous when he fell to a well judged catch by Miles Bascombe just inside the ropes at long off at the end of the eighth over.
With one run added in the next over, Corbin was bowled by off-spinner Liam Sebastien (2-8) making room to play through the off-side and when veteran Floyd Reifer was run out for two attempting a second run, CCC had lost three wickets for just two runs off nine balls.
Ryan Wiggins missed a straight one from left-arm spinner Garey Mathurin (2-24) was bowled and Jason Holder tried to clear the ropes at long-off with Sammy but only found Andre Fletcher’s safe hands in the deep.
At 60 for six, there would be no revival and the end came swiftly for CCC.
Earlier, the Windwards stumbled to 66 for four in the 12th over before they were rescued by Sammy and Lesporis (33) who put on 39 for the fifth wicket.
Sammy struck two fours and a six – a swat over mid-wicket off leg-spinner Akeem Dewar in an over that cost 16 runs – while Lesporis faced 25 balls and counted two fours.
