Powergen and Preysal to clash in quarters

POWERGEN will look to derail Queen’s Park Cricket Club’s attempts to retain the UWI-Unicom Twenty20 title on Wednesday when they face Southern rivals, Preysal, in the quarter-finals.

Action bowls off from 2pm, at the Sir Frank Worrell Cricket Ground, at UWI-SPEC, with the second match at 6pm pitting Merry Boys against Marchin Patriots.

The winners of these games will play each other in Saturday’s semi-final for a spot in Sunday’s final, all at the same venue.

Powegen looked impressive in Group C, crushing TT Defence Force in their opening match. They made 156 for seven thanks to Steven Katwaroo’s 67 from 60 and Akeil Cooper’s 34 from 17.

They then stymied the soldiers to 121 for nine to coast to a 35-run win. National icon Dave Mohammed returned to grab three for 27 while Kavesh Kantasingh nabbed two for 19 and feisty pacer Jarlanie Seales took two for 23. In their second match, Powergen racked up 188 for five with Ewart Nicholson smashing 62 off 31. Akeem Alvarez slammed 46 off 20 while Katwaroo chipped in with 23 to complete an impressive day of batting. The bowlers then limited Clarke Road to 129 for seven with Searles continuing his form via three for 21.

Preysal offered up more of a Jekyll and Hyde performance in Group B action as they beat Tobago Marlins only to be embarrassed by Guyana’s Malteenoes All-Stars. Preysal bowled Marlins out for just 72 with Justin Joseph taking three for two, Varoon Samaroo two for ten and Rakesh Maharaj two for 17. Mark Deyal cracked 43 off 28 while Christian Thurton made 25 off 14 to see them to 73 for two in under eight overs. In the second affair against Malteenoes, though, Preysal showed major cracks. After the Guyanese made 151, with Stephon Ramdial getting three for 13 and Samaroo three for 45, Preysal imploded in the wicket for just 45.

Kamil Pooran got 22 and Denesh Ramdin made ten, leaving them hoping they won’t be as inconsistent on Wednesday. Merry Boys will be considered favourites over Marchin Patriots after two wins in Group D. They hammered East Zone Tigers to get to 183 for five thanks to Iqwe Craig’s 69 off 52 and veteran captain Mario Belcon who got 59 off 40. Tigers were then skittled for 142 thanks to Sean Khan’s three for 21, Anthony Serrette’s two for 19 and Reinaldo Sammy’s two for 23.

It was a bit closer in the second match against Aranguez Sports Club as Merry Boys had to defend 168 for five. Belcon made 49 off 38, Craig got 36 off 32 and Franklyn Rouse made 27 off just nine. Aranguez got to 165 for seven but there were a couple balls seemingly above the waist which were contentious. Khan took two for 23 and Joshua Stewart scalped two for 26.

Patriots played in Group A, losing first to Queen’s Park before beating UWI.

Against the Parkites, they made 141 for eight with the champs chasing it down in under 19 overs. Vishan Jagassar top scored with 36, Teshawn Castro made 30 and Matheson got 17, and when they bowled only Jyd Goolie looked troublesome, removing Sunil Narine and Dwayne Bravo.

They’ll be looking to repeat their second performance, though, as they crushed UWI.

In a rain-affected match, Patriots made a hefty 133 for five in 12 thanks to Goolie’s 57 from 33 with six fours and three sixes. Castro added 23 and when they bowled, UWI could only get to 104 for four, leaving Patriots with a bit of confidence for this clash.