QPCC one win away from UWI T20 repeat

QUEEN'S Park Cricket Club (QPCC) will be gunning for back-to-back UWI-Unicom Twenty20 titles on Sunday when the defending champs face either Powergen or Merry Boys, at the Sir Frank Worrell Cricket Ground, at UWI SPEC in St Augustine from 6pm. The Parkites strolled into the final following an emphatic 55-run win over Guyana's Malteenoes All-Stars at the same venue, on Friday night, after making 160 for seven in their allotted overs. QPCC got 37 from Tion Webster and 35 from Nicholas Alexis but it was Christopher Vincent who had the Midas touch with man-of-the-match figures of four for 25 as Malteenoes crumbled for 105 in 17.1.

Malteenoes elected to field first and it seemed to pay dividends when opener Sunil Narine fell for yet another duck, bowled by Quintin Sampson. However, Webster was joined by captain Justin Guillen and they took the score from five to 64 with some exhilarating strokeplay, reaffirming why QPCC are considered one of the region's paramount institutions for cricket. Guillen made 25 off 19, taking a liking to Anthony Adams with a couple cuts for four. He grabbed three fours and a lofty six over cover before Adams got revenge with Kevon Savory doing the stumping.

Webster didn't last much longer as he fell five runs later in the same over. After cracking the likes of Raj Nannan and Kellon Carmichael for a couple straight sixes, Adams trapped him LBW after four fours and that pair of maximums. The run-rate slowed a bit thereafter to just about eight an over with Daron Cruickshank losing his stumps to Adams for 10, Kirstan Kallicharan falling to Nannan for 11 and then Isiah Rajah being bowled by skipper Steven Jacobs for 16. However, at 133 for six in the 18th, Alexis would step the pace up with 35 off 21 (three fours, two sixes) until Sampson had him holing out in the deep to Trevon Griffith. Vincent ended unbeaten on eight, taking a six off the last ball, with Dexter Sween scoreless. Adams concluded with three for 34 from his four while Sampson finished on two for 31.

Malteenoes started promisingly with 15 off Sween's opening over but after speeding to 31 by the third, the innings fell apart. Robin Bacchus was the first to go, lofting Sween (two for 36) to Kallicharan with Savory falling to the same bowler two runs later for duck. They'd lose two more wickets without anything added to the score. Griffith made 23 off 12 with two fours and two sixes but Jon Russ Jagessar quickly snuffed him out after a mistimed pull to Vincent. Jagessar then bowled Jonathan Foo for duck. Four runs later, Jagessar had Jacobs playing into Webster's hands for two to end with three for 21 and the total at 37 for five.

It became the Vincent show from there as he trapped Winston Forrester LBW for six, caught and bowled Travis Blyden for ten, and scalped Sampson for 10 and Carmichael for 12 as both offered routine catches to Rajah. The final wicket fell as Narine returned to action, bowling Nannan for a valiant 17 while Adams finished not out on eight. Powergen and Merry Boys battled it out last night at the same venue to determine the other finalist. Admission for today's final is $50 to the public and $40 for UWI staff and students with ID.