Trinidad and Tobago Under-19s beat Windwards by one wicket in CWI Champs

Sport

2 hours ago

Trinidad and Tobago’s Under-19 men’s cricketers recorded their second victory at the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Rising Stars Men’s Under-19 50-over Championships when they secured a thrilling one-wicket victory in a low-scoring match against home team Windward Islands at the Sion Hill Playing Field in St Vincent on July 28.

Windwards opted to bat first but struggled mightily with the bat and were bowled out for a paltry 96 after 35.5 overs. Middle-order batsman Kirt Murray was the only batsman to make a score of any significance as he top-scored with 29 from 60 balls.

Off-spinner Joshua Davis led the way for TT with figures of three for 16, with captain Olando James (three for 29) also among the wickets. Leg-spinner Aneal Rooplal also contributed with figures of two for 25.

On paper, a 97-run target seemed a piece of cake, but the TT team also struggled on the Sion Hill surface and they were in trouble in the 19th over when the well-performing batsman Andrew Rambaran was dismissed for a three-ball duck after being caught by Murray’s bowling, leaving his team at 44 for six.

TT’s troubles were compounded a few overs later when James was run out by a Murray peach for duck and Abdul-Raheem Toppin (four) was dismissed by off-spinner Lee John, who finished as the best bowler with three for 18.

With TT’s score at 62 for eight at that stage, the weight of the team fell on the shoulders of middle-order batsman Fareez Ali, who played a balanced anchor knock to take his team home. Ali hit 40 not out from 60 balls with five boundaries, and he showed great poise as he hit with the tail and picked out singles, swatting away the odd bad ball when the chances arose.

Ali shared a crucial 21-run stand with number ten batsman Kevin Kanhai for the ninth wicket. And although the latter failed to score during his 38-ball stay at the crease, he showed determined defence until he was bowled by left-handed seamer Aaron Joseph (one for 16) to leave TT on 83 for nine in the 34th over.

With TT needing 14 runs to secure victory, the hosts looked to be in control. However, Ali found another reliable partner in Rooplal (one off 13 balls), who quietly played his part in a game-changing 14-run partnership.

After a few thrilling overs, Ali gave TT their second win in four matches when he hit a Joseph ball into the backward point boundary for four, giving his team a narrow one-wicket victory with just over 12 overs remaining.

TT’s other win in the competition so far was also a low-scoring match. On 23 July they defeated the Leeward Islands by a margin of 31 runs at Sion Hill, after having made a modest score of 108. TT were then defeated in their next two matches by Barbados and Guyana.

TT will play their final match of the tournament on July 30 against reigning champions Jamaica at the Arnos Vale Playing Field.

Summary scores:

WINDWARD ISLANDS: 96 from 35.5 overs (Kirt Murray 29, Stephan Pascal 10; Joshua Davis 3/16, Olando James 3/29) vs TT: 97/9 from 37.2 overs (Fareez Ali 40 not out, Kyle Ramdoo 22; Lee John 3/18, Kirt Murray 3/31). TT won by 1 wicket.