Clarke Road stumble into T20 Festival final

A MIDDLE-order collapse almost ruined what looked like a simple chase for Clarke Road against Bess Motors Marchin Patriots in the first semifinal of the CPL/TKR T20 Festival match, at the Queen's Park Oval, St Clair, on March 21.

Clarke Road were 154/2 in the 17th over, cruising to the 172-run target. However, Patriots did not throw in the towel, as Clarke Road lost five wickets for 15 runs and slumped to 169/7 in the final over.

Yannick Ottley (eight) and Antonio Gomez (four) avoided calamity as Clarke Road closed on 174/7 in 19.3 overs to win by three wickets.

Earlier in the innings, Clarke Road got off to a rollicking start as former national cricketer Nicholas Sookdeosingh blazed left-arm spinner Ricky Jaipaul for two fours and a six in the second over.

Sookdeosingh's aggression eventually led to his demise as he skied a delivery to Kadeem Alleyne at mid on in the third over to give Teshawn Castro the wicket.

The loss of Sookdeosingh's wicket did not slow down Clarke Road's progress as runs kept flowing.

However, Patriots got a lift from Evin Lewis in the field as a throw from the mid-wicket boundary ran out Shatrughan Rambaran for 12.

The throw was just a couple feet from the stumps and bowler Alleyne had the simple task of removing the bails.

Mark Deyal settled down quickly as he helped Clarke Road stay ahead of the required run rate. Shian Brathwaite played intelligently, picking up the singles in between the boundaries.

Patriots were desperate for a wicket as Clarke Road moved to 77/2 after eight overs.

Brathwaite did not place all the pressure on Deyal, hitting boundaries occasionally.

At the drinks break, the Clarke Road supporters, who made the trip from Penal, would have been smiling with their team 96/2 after ten overs.

The scoreboard kept on ticking as Brathwaite struck Alleyne for two fours in the tenth over and in the 12th over, Deyal pulled Jaipaul for back-to-back sixes as Clarke Road started to ease their way towards the target.

When Clarke Road got past 100, Brathwaite increased his tempo. He got to his fifty when he struck spinner Rajeev Ramnath for a straight four.

Brathwaite (55 off 46 balls) and Deyal (54 off 37) fell in quick succession to leave Clarke Road on 156/4, sparking a collapse that almost cost them the game.

Player-of-the-Match Deysal said, "T20 is all about excitement, so we gave them some excitement. It's good that the lower order could get that feel what it is to bring home the game."

Batting first, the prolific Patriots opening pair of Alleyne and Lewis were kept quiet, putting on just 20. Lewis fell for 13 and later Alleyne for 31. Many Patriots batsmen got starts, but Clarke Road took wickets regularly to limit them. Castro (21), Crystian Thurton (29) and Kirstan Kallicharan (21) all got into the twenties, but could not push on.

Pacer Clevon Kalawan grabbed 4/27 in four overs and Deyal picked up 3/39 in four.

The second semifinal between Queen's Park and PowerGen finished after press time on March 21.

The final will be held at 6.30 pm on March 22.

Summarised scores: CLARKE ROAD 171/9 (20 overs) (Kadeem Alleyne 31, Crystian Thurton 29; Clevon Kalawan 4/27, Mark Deyal 3/39) vs MARCHIN PATRIOTS 174/7 (19.3 overs) (Shian Brathwaite 55, M Deyal 54; Rivaldo Ramlogan 3/20, Giovante Depeiza 2/19). Clarke Road won by three wickets.