PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – A resolute, unbeaten 70 from the reliable Jason Mohammed overshadowed a run-a-ball, 76 not out and steered hosts Trinidad & Tobago Red Force to a four-wicket win against West Indies Academy in the West Indies Super50 Cup yesterday in Trinidad.
Batting at number five, Mohammed struck only seven fours in his 86-ball innings, and Red Force successfully chased 264 at the historic Queen’s Park Oval to clinch their fourth win in five matches in the eight-team tournament to cement their place at the top of the standings.
The 37-year-old, who once led West Indies in four One-day internationals, shared 50 for the sixth wicket with Akeal Hosein, and he put on an unbroken 72 with Terrance Hinds that carried Red Force over the finish line.
Mohammed, a former Red Force captain, formalised the result when he pulled pacer Nyeem Young, the Academy captain, to deep mid-wicket for four with eight balls remaining to give the home team four wins on the trot after their first match was rained out.
Opener Tion Webster supported with 45, Hosein made 31, Hinds was not out on 23, and discarded West Indies batsman Darren Bravo, the Red Force captain, added 21 to prop up the successful run chase.
Auguste, the West Indies Under-19 captain to the 2022 ICC Youth World Cup in the Caribbean, batted at number six, and he struck six fours and three sixes from 63 balls and shared three significant stands that were the rock upon which the Academy built their total of 263 for eight after they decided to bat.
The Academy struggled through the first Power Play to reach 47 without loss, but their openers, left-hander Matthew Nandu and Kimani Melius, the West Indies Under-19 captain to the 2020 ICC Youth World Cup in South Africa, shared 59 for the first wicket before they stumbled to 106 for four at the halfway stage of their innings.
Left-hander Auguste shared 49 with Kevin Wickham for the fifth wicket, before he put on successive 51-run stands with Young for the sixth wicket, and another Barbadian all-rounder Matthew Forde for the seventh wicket to beef up their side’s total.
Nandu scored 40, Wickham made 31, Melius got 29, Forde gathered 28 and Leonardo Julien added 22 to lead the Academy batting. Red Force then ended the first Power Play on 60 for one to secure a batting bonus point after opener Kjorn Ottley was caught at short third man off pacer Matthew Forde in the fifth over.
Webster dominated a 50-run, second-wicket stand with West Indies Test wicketkeeper-batsman Joshua Da Silva, but left-arm spinner Joshua Bishop and part-time leg-spinner Kevin Wickham removed them respectively, before the home team reached 100.
Red Force were 119 for four after Wickham got Bravo caught behind in the 25th over, and they were 142 for five when part-time off-spinner Matthew Nandu got Mark Deyal caught at short extra cover for 13 in the 30th over.
Hosein came to the crease and was a stable ally for Mohammed, and they got Red Force back on course for victory before pacer Kelvin Pitman got him caught at deep mid-wicket in the 39th over before the home team had passed 200.
Hinds joined Mohammed and they carried Red Force past 200, and they entered the final Power Play with their side needing 58 more to win and held their nerve to complete the job.
The tournament continues with a double-header today when Barbados Pride face Guyana Harpy Eagles at 9 a.m. at Frank Worrell Field on the St Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies, and the winless pair of Jamaica Scorpions, last year’s champions, and Windward Islands Volcanoes clash at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in the south Trinidad district of Tarouba.
