Central Sports whip Parkites II in TTCB T20 final

CENTRAL SPORTS relied on a match-winning unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 98 between Barbadian Kyle Mayers and former captain Shazam Babwah to get past Queen’s Park II by five wickets in Saturday’s final of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) Premiership Division T20 competition.

Action was in the TTCB T20 Festival, at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba.

The Parkites II produced a decent total of 132 runs for four wickets, after opting to bat first, with openers Nicholas Alexis and Joshua Da Silva scoring 44 and 32 respectively.

Central Sports were on the ropes at 35/5, in the seventh over, but Mayers, who plays for the Windward Islands Volcanoes in the regional circuit, had a Man of the Match innings of 52 and ex-national all-rounder Babwah’s 38 to guide them to 133/5 in 18 overs.

For their success, Central Sports emerged $70,000 richer while Queen’s Park II had to settle for the $40,000 runners-up cheque.

Alexis and Da Silva had a cautious start to the match, and they steadily put together an opening stand of 64 before Da Silva (30 balls, two fours and a six) was held by Christopher Vincent at long-off, from Alex Antoine’s off-spin.

Alexis followed in similar fashion, when the score was on 84, while captain Jonathan Augustus (five) was dismissed by leg-spinner Kissondath Magram.

Jesse Bootan (15) skied one from Antoine to Mayers in the deep but Joshua Ramdoo (21) joined West Indies Under-19 batsman Kirstan Kallichran (eight) in an undefeated fifth-wicket stand of 26 in 2.5 overs.

Antoine ended with figures of three wickets for 14 runs.

Central Sports’ reply got off to a stuttering start, with wickets falling in each of the first three overs.

Captain Kjorn Ottley (10) slashed at one from Sherwin Peters and was caught behind by wicketkeeper Da Silva, Aaron Alfred was taken by Alexis at gully of pacer Philton Williams while Kamil Pooran (eight) was trapped in front by Peters. Keddy Lesporis (six) was brilliantly taken by Namir Suepaul, diving to his right at mid-off, off left-arm spinner Darren Deonarine’s first ball, but Deonarine turned from hero to villain moments later when he dropped a chance from Babwah off Williams, when the 41-year-old batsman was on two.

Jyd Goolie (five) was caught behind off Williams, but Babwah and the left-handed Mayers used all their experience to keep Central Sports within touching distance of the required run-rate.

Babwah was dropped once again, by Kallicharan at deep midwicket off off-spinner Marlon Barclay, when on 25, and the former captain completed the successful chase with a single to short fine-leg off Suepaul.

In a post-game interview, Ottley commented, “It was a great performance by the team. To see that last year, we were the beaten finalists (to Merry Boys) and, this year, to go all the way it’s a real special feeling for us.”

The ex-national opener noted, “It was a total team effort but I want to single out the innings from Mayers and Babwah.”

Scores –

QUEEN’S PARK II 132/4 (20 overs) – Nicholas Alexis 44, Joshua Da Silva 32, Joshua Ramdoo 21 not out; Alex Antoine 3/14 vs CENTRAL SPORTS 133/5 (18 overs) – Kyle Mayers 52 not out, Shazam Babwah 38 not out; Sherwin Peters 2/19, Philton Williams 2/28. Central Sports won by five wickets.