Red Force Divas fall to Barbados in T20 Blaze opener

Trinidad and Tobago Red Force Divas had a losing start to the 2026 Cricket West Indies (CWI) T20 Blaze tournament on January 13 when they tasted a three-wicket defeat to Barbados in a low-scoring encounter at the Arnos Vale Playing Field in Kingstown, St Vincent.

Playing under lights, the TT women laboured to 97 for five, with veteran Britney Cooper (33 not out off 36 balls) and skipper Karishma Ramharack (21 off 23), who opened the batting, being the leading scorers. TT crawled to 45 for three after ten overs, with Cooper hitting three boundaries in her innings as she tried to pick things up at the back end. Opening bowler Naijanni Cumberbatch led Barbados with figures of two for 18, with three other bowlers getting a wicket apiece.

TT didn't have the best of starts in the field, as opener Trishan Holder (16) was dropped on just one in the second over by Cooper, who took on the wicket-keeping duties. Holder and 17-year-old Eboni Brathwaite (26 off 19) shared in a 45-run opening stand, with the latter being especially aggressive and expressive in the powerplay.

With a lovely spell from leg-spinner Brianna Harricharan (three for eight), TT bowled themselves right back into the game as the Bajans slipped to 68 for six by the 15th over and looked in real danger of throwing the victory away. With the Bajans still needing 30 off 34 balls when Cumberbatch (seven) fell to Lee-Ann Kirby in the 15th over, the teams looked set for a nail-biting finish.

Known for her work with the ball, Shamilia Connell (16 not out off ten) showed a cool head at the death and helped Barbados to 99 for seven with nine balls to spare – even icing the game with a pull to the mid-wicket boundary off medium-pacer Amrita Ramtahal.

TT will play their second game on January 15 when they face Windwards from 2.30 pm in Arnos Vale. On January 13, Windwards lost a low-scoring thriller of their own as Guyana got a tight seven-run win after posting 96 for five. Leewards defeated Jamaica by nine runs.

Summarised scores:

TT WOMEN – 97/5 from 20 overs (Britney Cooper 33 not out, Karishma Ramharack 21 not out; Naijanni Cumberbatch 2/18) vs BARBADOS – 99/7 from 18.3 overs (Eboni Brathwaite 26, Shamilia Connell 16 not out; Brianna Harricharan 3/8). Barbados won by three wickets.

GUYANA – 96/5 from 20 overs (Shabika Gajnabi 38, Ashmini Munisar 17 not out) vs WINDWARDS – 89/5 from 20 overs (Jannillea Glasgow 41, Afy Fletcher 33). Guyana won by seven runs.

LEEWARDS – 108/5 from 20 overs (Shawnisha Hector 56, Amanda Edwards 20; Chedean Nation 2/15) vs JAMAICA – 99/8 from 20 overs (C Nation 48 not out, Stafanie Taylor 25; S Hector 2/15, Davronique Maynard 2/19). Leewards won by nine runs.