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ST JOHN’S – Defending champions Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and the Leeward Islands began this year’s Rising Stars Men’s Under-19 50-over Championship with victories in Antigua on Saturday.
While Barbados and the Leeward Islands romped to comfortable wins over the Windward Islands and Jamaica, respectively, T&T were made to fight before getting over Guyana.
At Liberta Sports Club: Trinidad and Tobago overcame a woeful batting performance to register an impressive 24-run victory over Guyana.
After being sent in, T&T could only muster 167 in 40.3 overs, thanks mainly to a fighting half-century by Christian Lall.
Daron Dhanraj, Amrit Pittiman and Daniel Holder then grabbed three wickets apiece to bowl out Guyana for 143 in 34.3 overs.
T&T actually got off to a decent start with the bat, with Christiano Ramanan scoring 33 and Tariq Richards 31, to propel their side to 73 for two in the 17th over.
However, Romario Ramdehol and Dhanesh Persaud shared four wickets between them to spark a middle-order collapse that saw T&T crumble to 94 for six.
They were saved by a 62-run partnership between Lall and Renaldo Fournillier, who scored 19, which carried them to 156 for six.
When Joshua Budram struck to remove Fournillier and Lall was dismissed for 53 off 70 balls, T&T suffered another slide that saw them lose their last four wickets for 11 runs in the space of four overs.
Budram wrapped up the tail to finish with 4-9, Ramdehol took 2-21, Micah Amsterdam 2-35 and Persaud 2-44.
Guyana lost openers Khush Seegobin and Parmeshwar Ram in the space of three balls to slip to 10 for two, before Shamar Apple and Yannick Newton put on 46 runs for the third wicket.
But Guyana’s innings unravelled once Newton was bowled by Holder for 23, with Apple being dismissed for 28 shortly afterwards, while Adrian Hetmyer made just seven, to see them slump to 72 for five in the 14th over.
Ramdehol tried his best to revive the innings in his unbeaten knock of 41 off 82 balls, but he got little other support.
Dhanraj was the pick of T&T’s bowlers with 3-20, Pittiman claimed 3-44 and Holder 3-46.
At Coolidge Cricket Ground: Half-centuries from opener Tanez Francis and captain Matthew Miller carried Leeward Islands to a comprehensive 120-run win over Jamaica.
Francis topscored with 82 off 98 balls, inclusive of 11 boundaries, while Miller hit 72 off 78 balls, with four fours and three sixes, to propel their side to a formidable 275 for seven in their 50 overs after electing to bat first.
Jamaica never mounted a serious challenge to the total in their run chase and were eventually dismissed for 155 in 35.5 overs.
The Leeward Islands were given a solid start, with Francis and Amoree Jones posting a 68-run opening stand.
When Alixandre Elliot struck to claim the wicket of Jones for 20, the Leeward Islands wobbled briefly to find themselves 80 for three.
Francis and his skipper came to their side’s rescue during a 106-run partnership that put them in the ascendancy at 186 for three in the 38th over.
Jamaica fought back by dismissing both batters in quick succession to reduce their opponents to 209 for five, but Lawshorn Bergan and Rondre Daniel both scored 28 runs to anchor the innings and get the Leeward Islands to their eventual total.
Geovanni Grey mopped up the tail to claim 4-44, while Elliot took 3-40.
Jamaica never recovered from a horrible start that saw them lose their top four batsmen with only 58 runs on the board.
Ryan Lyttleton, who scored an unbeaten 59 off 69 balls and Demarco Scott, who made 15, tried to revive the innings in a 44-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
However, once Scott was run out, Jamaica lost five wickets for 27 runs to collapse to 129 for nine to effectively end the contest.
For Jamaica, Jathan Edward took 3-37, Miller returned to snare 2-12, and Kunal Tilokani finished with 2-33.
At Bethesda Sports Ground: Barbados produced a record-breaking batting performance on their way to thrashing the Windward Islands by 119 runs.
Jordan Graham, Kemar Dixon and Gadson Bowens all scored half-centuries, while R’Jai Gittens smashed 49 off just 16 balls, to see the defending champions post a mammoth 392 for nine in their 50 overs, the highest-ever total in the tournament’s history.
The Windward Islands did make a contest of their chase, but lost wickets at key intervals to eventually finish on 273 for seven in 50 overs.
Barbados actually got off to a wretched start, losing opener Damarko Wiggins in the second over of the match with just three runs on the board.
What followed thereafter, however, was a sensational showing by the remaining batters.
Bowens and Graham shared a 135-run partnership for the second wicket in only 12 overs, which saw Barbados motor to 138 for one at the start of the 14th over.
Pacer Kevin Joseph broke the stand by bowling Bowens for 62 off 40 balls, comprising eight fours and three sixes, and he also trapped Graham lbw after he had scored 76 from just 43 balls and struck 11 boundaries and three sixes, to leave Barbados 151 for three at the end of the 16th over.
Kelani Clarke and Kemari Dixon then added 78 runs for the fourth wicket to maintain the momentum before Clarke was dismissed for 37.
The Windwards looked to have brought themselves back in the match when the dismissal of Justin Parris left Barbados 239 for five after 34 overs.
But Dixon, who made 67 off 73 balls, along with some remarkable power hitting by the lower order, left their opponents stunned.
Gittens smashed five fours and four sixes in his stunning knock at number nine and Raphael Lovell scored an unbeaten 31 off 29 balls, to help Barbados pummel 153 runs from the remaining 16 overs, including 85 off the last five.
Their total surpassed the previous highest total of 374 for six, which ironically was scored by Windward Islands against Barbados in the 2014-2015 season.
Aiden Burton ended with 3-36, while Kevin Joseph took 2-51 for the Windwards.
Captain and opener Theo Edwards then slammed 92 off 77 balls, with 15 fours and three sixes, and together with Burton, kept the Windward Islands in the hunt at 161 for two in the 27th over.
Any hope of pulling off an unlikely victory was erased when left-arm pacer Raphael Lovell trapped Burton lbw for 47 to end their 139-run partnership.
His dismissal saw Edward, Johnathan Daniel and Zach Thomas all losing their wickets without the addition of a run, leaving them in tatters at 162 for six.
Tyler Venner stroked an unbeaten 71 off 62 balls to ensure the Windward Islands were not bowled out with the outcome already decided.
For Barbados, Rajeev Parsooram took 3-46 and Jahidi Hinds 2-63.
Summarised scores
At Liberta Sports Club: Trinidad and Tobago defeated Guyana by 24 runs.
T&T 167 in 40.5 overs (Christian Lall 53, Christiano Ramanan 33, Tariq Richards 31, Renaldo Fournillier 19, Levi Ghanny 10; Joshua Budram 4-9, Romario Ramdehol 2-21, Micah Amsterdam 2-35, Dhanesh Persaud 2-44).
GUYANA 143 in 34.3 overs (Romario Ramdehol 41 not out, Shamar Apple 28, Yannick Newton 23, Dhanesh Persaud 17; Daron Dhanraj 3-20, Amrit Pittiman 3-44, Daniel Holder 3-46).
At Coolidge Cricket Ground: Leeward Islands defeated Jamaica by 120 runs.
LEEWARD ISLANDS 275-7 in 50 overs (Tanez Francis 82, Matthew Miller 72, Lawshorn Bergan 28, Rondre Daniel 28 not out, Amoree Jones 20, Jathan Edward 14 not out; Geovanni Grey 4-44, Alixandre Elliot 3-40).
JAMAICA 155 in 35.5 overs (Ryan Lyttleton 59 not out, Odane Binns 19, Demario Hall 18, Demarco Scott 15, Pajay Nelson 11, Jahdae Moore 11; Jathan Edward 3-37, Matthew Miller 2-12, Kunal Tilokani 2-33).
At Bethesda Sports Ground: Barbados defeated Windward Islands by 119 runs.
BARBADOS 392-9 in 50 overs (Jordan Graham 76, Kemar Dixon 67, Gadson Bowens 62, R’Jai Gittens 49, Kelani Clarke 37, Raphael Lovell 31 not out, Rajeev Parsooram 17, Jahidi Hinds 15; Aiden Burton 3-36, Kevin Joseph 2-51).
WINDWARD ISLANDS 273-7 in 50 overs (Theo Edward 92, Tyler Venner 67 not out, Aiden Burton 47, Kevin Joseph 24 not out, Cody Fontinelle 14; Rajeev Parsooram 3-46, Jahidi Hinds 2-63).
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