Leewards send Red Force Divas crashing out T20 Blaze

TRINIDAD and Tobago fell to their third straight loss at the Cricket West Indies Women's T20 Blaze when they succumbed to a 36-run defeat against Leeward Islands at the Arnos Vale Playing Field in Kingstown, St Vincent, on May 9.

The Anisa Mohammed-led team started the tourney with wins over Barbados and defending champions Jamaica, but successive losses to Windward Islands, Guyana and the Leewards have put the damper on what initially looked like a promising run.

TT entered the final-round fixture in fourth spot with 20 points, while Leewards were third on 21 points. Guyana (33 points) and Jamaica (23 points) led the standings ahead of their 2.30 pm clash on May 9.

Batting first, the Leewards made 133 for five, with Shawnisha Hector (40 off 26 balls), Qiana Joseph (25) and captain Jahzara Claxton (32 not out off 28) all contributing handily. Hector and Joseph got the innings off to a swift start in the power play, before the latter was dismissed by Amrita Ramtahal (two for 20) in the eighth over with the score on 63.

The hard-hitting Joseph, Divya Saxena (nine) and Amanda Edwards (one) fell in quick succession as the Leewards slipped to 82 for four when Shalini Samaroo (three for 18) got in on the act with wickets in consecutive overs. Samaroo got her third wicket in the 18th over when Reniece Boyce (14) was caught by Britney Cooper, but Claxton struck a couple of sixes off Mohammed in the penultimate over to give Leewards a strong finish.

Two days after being shut out for just 35 against Guyana, TT had another stuttering start and were struggling at 45 for four at the halfway stage. The top three batters Rachael Vincent (five), Djenaba Joseph (golden duck) and Shunelle Sawh (11) were all removed by Edwards (three for 17), with Cooper being dismissed by Rozel Liburd (one for 20) in the tenth over.

TT slipped into further trouble when Mohammed was run out by Liburd in the 12th over to leave her team on 51 for five. Lee-Ann Kirby struck a couple of boundaries in her top score of 21, but she was the next batter dismissed when she spooned a simple return chance to Davronique Maynard (one for 20) in the 15th over.

After starring with the bat, Hector impressed with the ball when she dismissed Kirbyina Alexander (12) in the 16th over. WIndies under-19 skipper Samara Ramnath (13) then went via the run out route off the penultimate ball of the game as TT limped to 97 for eight in their 20 overs.

TT will no play no further part in the tournament, which will conclude with the final at the Arnos Vale venue on May 11 when the top two teams from the round-robin phase meet each other for regional supremacy.

Summarised Scores: LEEWARD ISLANDS – 133/5 from 20 overs (Shawnisha Hector 40, Jahzara Claxton 32 not out, Qiana Joseph 25; Shalini Samaroo 3/18, Amrita Ramtahal 2/20) vs TT – 97/8 from 20 overs (Lee-Ann Kirby 21, Britney Cooper 14; Amanda Edwards 3/17). Leewards won by 36 runs.