IT?WAS?A?THRILLER.
Barbados, spearheaded by the fast bowling of dynamic all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite, held their nerve down the thrilling final stretch to beat a resilient Trinidad and?Tobago by 17 runs in the final of the NAGICO Super50 cricket competition in front of a packed Queen’s Park Oval last night.
This was the sixth regional title for Barbados who fought back like tigers after the home side raced to 57 without loss with Lendl Simmons leading the charge. Brathwaite engineered the Barbadians’ comeback with the scalps of Simmons and skipper Dwayne Bravo, setting the stage for what proved to be a pulsating last hour-and-a half filled with nerve-jangling twists.
“Barbadian cricketers are known to make their fans hold their belly, and this was close all the way through,” said a jubilant Brathwaite. “It is really great to win; this was for the fans back home. This was a great final.”
West Indies wicketkeeper batsman Denesh Ramdin kept the Trinis in the match with a counter-attacking and well-paced knock of 68 off 76 balls, his only half-century of the tournament, before he was ninth out, trapped leg-before by all-rounder Dwayne Smith, the Man Of The Match.
Despite Ramdin’s gallant knock and the efforts of the last two batsmen – Rayad Emrit (27) and Ravi Rampaul (nine not out) – the hosts fell agonisingly short in what was a closely contested match.
Smith (83) and Kraigg Brathwaite set the plank for the Barbados total of 252 with an opening stand of 127. The dashing Smith got them off to a flying start after being dropped by Evin Lewis off the bowling of Rampaul when on 22.
He pulled Rampaul for six off the first ball of the sixth over and was dropped off the next as he tried to clear the boundary again. The missed opportunity came back to haunt the hosts as Smith went on to make 83 off 77 balls with ten fours and two sixes. He hit boundaries off six of the eight bowlers used.
Simmons broke the stand in the 23rd over when Brathwaite edged behind to wicketkeeper Ramdin for a 63-ball 36 to bring the hosts back into the match.
Smith followed shortly after, caught by captain Dwayne Bravo on the midwicket boundary off the bowling of Simmons.
Jonathan Carter kept the Bajans going with a 51-ball 49 before Trinidad and Tobago’s Indian Premier League stars started to shine.
Sunil Narine (two for 18) trapped Carter lbw to start a slide in which six wickets fell for 23 runs.
Carter put on 63 with Kevin Stoute for the third wicket, taking the score to 195 before Narine intervened. Cooper grabbed three quick wickets while Narine took another and Yannick Ottley claimed one as Barbados slipped to 218 for eight.
Lewis and Simmons got the Trinidad and Tobago reply off to a solid start, the pair racing to 37 in six overs before the Bajans staged a comeback. Lewis (27) found Edwards on the third man boundary and Yannick Ottley (zero) top edged an attempted pull to Smith as Trinidad and Tobago slipped to 62 for two.
Brathwaite snatched two wickets, bowling Simmons before Dwayne Bravo mistimed a pull to Kevin Stoute at midwicket as the hosts found themselves under pressure.
The sixth-wicket partnership between Jason Mohammed and Ramdin kept things interesting but when leg-spinner Sulieman Benn broke that stand, sending back Mohammed for 26, Trinidad and Tobago were still over 111 runs away from their target.
Ramdin and the tailenders battled to the end but could not go all the way, Trinidad and Tobago being dismissed with 25 balls remaining.
