Corey Collymore and Jomel Warrican underlined the telling presence of top players in the sixth annual Christ Church Foundation School Joel Garner Twenty20 tapeball tournament with winning performances at Dover on Friday night.
Collymore, a former Barbados captain and West Indies fast bowler, grabbed three for 14 off four overs in helping Alexandra Old Scholars to beat Princess Margaret Old Scholars by four wickets in the first match of a double-header in the Lee Harford Skeete/
Lewiston Wellington Zone A.
It earned the 36-year-old Collymore the Baron’s Smokehouse $100 Player-Of-The-Match Award, a few days before he leaves for Trinidad and Tobago as assistant coach of Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) for the WICB NAGICO Super50 championship.
Warrican, 21, better known for his left-arm spin, showed his growing reputation as a genuine all-rounder by hammering 46 off only 26 balls with three sixes and three fours.
He followed up by returning the very mean figures of one wicket for two runs off four overs in spurring Combermere Old Scholars, of which he is the captain, to a 46-run win over Alleyne Alumni, the 2011 and 2013 losing finalists.
Warrican, too, won the Baron’s Smokehouse $100 Player-Of-The-Match prize.
In the presence of another large crowd, Alexandra, also boasting former West Indies Under-19 team all-rounder Kyle Mayers who is in the CCC squad for the NAGICO Super50 tournament, pegged back Princess Margaret from early after the Six Roads, St Philip team had won the toss.
The new ball pair of Collymore and Mayers each took a wicket in their second over, and against a varied attack, Princess Margaret were wobbling on 40 for four by the tenth over after being 13 for two off five overs.
They eventually reached 92 for nine off 20 overs with the topscore of 16 coming from wicketkeeper David Nicholls.
Apart from Collymore, six-footer Jamal “Bert” Smith – the ICBL Empire captain and wicketkeeper/batsman who has played for both Barbados and CCC at the first-class level – exhibited his versatility by picking up three for 24 off four overs with his off-cutters.
Veteran ESA Field Pickwick captain Rondelle Yearwood led the Alexandra chase with 24 which included two fours and one six at the top, while Mayers contributed 16 as the Queen’s Street, St Peter side triumphed with 6.4 overs to spare.
Medium-pacer Kemar Harte took three for 22 off four overs.
Combermere Old Scholars scored 123 for seven off 20 overs after winning the toss.
Warrican, who has been in excellent form with the ball in the CCC trial matches (both for the NAGICO tournament and the regional first-class championship, which starts February 28) was at the ground from early and really looked the part with both bat and ball.
He went to the crease with the score 62 for five in the 12th over and proceeded to jump the Alleyne bowlers with his attacking strokes before he was run out.
Experienced seamer Andre Evelyn took three for 18 and medium-pacer Jomo Carrington two for 30 – both off four overs.
Alleyne were restricted to 77 for eight off 20 overs with only Randy Thomas (20), the captain of LIME, the BCA Sagicor General Super Cup 50-over champions, and Kemar Jabarry Smith (15), brother of Dwayne Smith, the Barbados and West Indies player, reaching double-figures.
Andre Marshall, the Super Centre Spartan left-arm spinner, was the leading wicket-taker with three for 13 off four overs, while medium-pacer Carleon Brome Jr took two for five off two overs.
The tournament continues tomorrow with the current Foundation School team opposing Harrison College Old Scholars in the Lewin/Gilpin Jones Brothers Zone B at Briar Hall at 7 p.m. (PR)
