TTCB – Results

T&T Win in T20 Cricket Fest
December 29, 2010

Darren Bravo leads T&T to T20 victory

DARREN BRAVO emerged “Man-of-the-Match” after laying the groundwork for an emphatic victory by Trinidad and Tobago’s senior cricketers over the T&T Cricket Board’s Academy Under-23 side on Tuesday in the first match of the three-day T20 Cricket Festival at Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre.

The younger brother of star West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo slammed five fours and two sixes in an entertaining innings of 75 not out off only 56 balls as the  national  team dominated the inexperienced Under-23s to score 172 for three in their allotted 20 overs.

In a rare period of sustained sunshine and a dry outfield, and in front of an appreciable crowd numbering more than 2,000 fans at the picturesque ground situated in the heart of the Petrotrin oil refinery, the T&TCB Academy were outwitted and outmuscled by their more seasoned counterparts and finished on 94 for five to lose by 78 runs.

Bravo who made an impressive Test debut two months ago in Sri Lanka combined with his captain Daren Ganga to repair the T&T innings after the early loss of  opening batsman Adrian Barath who was sent back in the second over without scoring, caught at coverpoint by Derone Davis off the bowling of Daniel St Clair.

T&T were rocked back further when Lendl Simmons fell after scoring only 10 , when he tried to force St Clair through extra cover and Nicholas Sookdeosingh pulled off a remarkable catch at ankle height with the score on 22.

But Bravo and Ganga weathered the storm with an intelligent 84-run partnership using their experience to take the score to 116 in the 15th over before being separated with the T&T captain hitting a typical solid 43 with five fours to see off the Under-23s.

After his departure, caught by Kevon Christmas at long on, West Indies wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin  and Bravo pushed the score along combining several brutal hits with intelligent running against the hapless Under-23s.

Ramdin especially delighted the crowd with a spectacular cameo racing to 37 off just 16 balls including two fours and three sixes, all clean strikes which scattered the crowd on the boundary ropes.

Of the six bowlers employed by Academy skipper Yannick Cariah, St Clair impressed with his pace and bounce taking two for 34 while Yannic Ottley claimed the other wicket to fall.

The Academy team started confidently with opening batsmen Nicholas Alexis and Kieron Joseph negotiating a fiery opening spell from Ravi Rampaul bowling from the Refinery End who was well-supported by slow bowler Samuel Badree from the River End.

However Kevon Cooper struck the first blow when he beat Joseph for pace as he prodded forward giving the faintest of edges which was gleefully accepted by wicketkeeper Ramdin with the score on 26.

Alexis followed his opening partner into the Players’ Pavilion soon after when he gave Ramdin his second catch behind the stumps, this time off the bowling of first change bowler Imran Khan.

Sookdeosingh and Ottley sought to repair the damage against the tight T&T bowling and featured in a 35-run partnership before Ottley  gave a simple return catch to Sherwin Ganga after compiling 13 painstaking runs.

With the run rate escalating the Academy Under-23s went in desperate search of runs but sunk deeper into trouble when Akeil Cooper was expertly run out, beaten by a throw from Barath to wicketkeeper Ramdin after scoring seven runs.

And the die was cast when Sookdeosingh, without any addition to the score lofted Badree to captain Ganga at midwicket with the Academy XI in peril at 77 for five in the 16th over.

The Under-23s’skipper Cariah and bowler Davis faced a monumental task to get their team to the victory target, one which proved impossible in the end with the T&T bowlers tightening the screws in the final overs to get their T20 Cricket Festival campaign off to the best possible start.

The T&T bowlers shared in the wickets with one apiece for Badree, Cooper, Khan and Ganga.

T20 SCOREBOARD

TRINIDAD/TOBAGO VS T&TCB ACADEMY

T&T Innings

L Simmons c Sookdeosingh b St Clair*10

A Barath c Davis  b St Clair*0

Darren Bravo not out*75

D Ganga c Christmas b Ottley*43

D Ramdin not out*37

TOTAL  (For three wkts)*172

Fall of wkts: 8 (Barath); 32 (Simmons); 116 (Ganga)

BOWLING: K Christmas 3-0-30-0; D St Clair 4-0-34-2; D Davis 4-0-21-0; E Rajah 4-0-31-0; Y Cariah 2-0-31-0; Y Ottley 3-0-25-1 

T&TCB Academy

N Alexis c wkp Ramdin b Khan*14

K Joseph c wkp Ramdin b Cooper 9

N Sookdeosingh c D Ganga b Badree*27

Y Ottley c&b S Ganga*13

A Cooper run out*7

Y Cariah not out*12

D Davis not out*8

TOTAL (For five wkts)*94

Fall of wkts: 26 (Joseph); 30 Alexis; 65 (Ottley); 77 (Cooper); 77 (Sookdeosingh)

BOWLING: Rampaul 3-0-13-0; Badree 4-0-18-1; Cooper 3-0-11-1; Khan 2-0-13-1; Kelly 2-0-11-0; S Ganga 4-0-18-1; Simmons 2-0-10-0.

Result: T&T beat T&TCB Academy by 78 runs