Patriots hand T20 Festival champs Central Sports second loss

BESS Motors Marchin Patriots handed defending CPL/TKR T20 Festival champions Central Sports their second consecutive defeat in as many matches as they got past the 2024 winners by 71 runs at Queen’s Park Oval in St Clair on March 8.

After posting a formidable total of 172 from 19.5 overs in the Group A match, the Patriots bowled aggressively and dismissed Central Sports for 101 from 19.1 overs to seal victory in their opening fixture.

Put in to bat, Patriots had strong top order performances from Rajeev Ramnath (47), Evin Lewis (41) and Crystian Thurton (33). However, opener Kadeem Alleyne (11) was the only other player to get within double figures as only 17 runs came from the remaining six middle and lower-order batsmen.

Derone Davis (3/25) was Central Sports’ best bowler, while S Ali (2/30) and Marlon Richards (2/38) picked up two wickets each.

In reply, Central Sports had a horror start and were three wickets down with just eight runs on the board after two and a half overs. Davis (34) and Jabari Mills (12) provided limited stability up top, while veteran Imran Khan finished not out on 13.

Keeping the Central Sports batsmen at bay were Bajan all-rounder Giovonte Depeiza, who snared a stellar 4/16 from 3.1 overs, Alleyne (2/8) and Kastri Singh (2/24). Central Sports can still advance to the semifinals, but will need to win their final two group matches against Preysal and Queen's Park to have any chance of progressing.

In the early Group A match on March 8, Preysal Sports Club bounced back from an opening round loss against Queen’s Park Cricket Club to defeat Yorkshire by 18 runs.

Winning the toss and opting to bat first, Preysal got to 161/7 from their 20 overs. Sachin Seecharan (45) led all scorers with Aaron Bankay (39) also turning out a fine knock. Devon Lord (2/28) topped the bowling for Yorkshire.

Set 162 for victory, Yorkshire had a shaky start and were 13/3 inside four overs. Ziggy Levy (51) brought some stability to the innings alongside Quincy Babel (27), but Preysal’s bowling was spot on, as they went on to dismiss Yorkshire for 143 runs, with five balls remaining.

Matthew Patrick showed good form with the ball as he bagged 4/13 from 2.1 overs, with Justin Gangoo (3/20) and Ronaldo Forester (2/32) also snatching wickets.

Matches continue on March 12 with Marchin versus Preysal from 2.30 pm and Yorkshire against QPCC from 6.30 pm.