Cephas Cooper hits 108, but final Red Force trial match ends in draw

Rain had the final say in the TT Red Force trial match at the National Cricket Centre in Balmain, Couva on January 18 as the Khary Pierre XI and the Jyd Goolie XI played to a draw.

Although no play was possible on the final day's play of the team's last trial match ahead of the 2025 season, top order batsman Cephas Cooper certainly did his best to catch the selectors' eyes when he notched a century towards the end of the third day on January 17.

Having scored 71 in the Pierre XI's first-innings score of 331, Cooper got to three figures in the second innings as he struck his way to 108 not out off 163 balls to lead his team to 275 for five in their second turn at the crease. Cooper hit 13 fours and two sixes in his innings and shared in a 66-run partnership with opener Kamil Pooran who struck 50 off 81 balls.

Cooper's final act in the day/night contest was to share in an unbeaten 64-run stand with wicket-keeper/batsman Daniel Williams (36 off 53).

The Pierre XI was in a position of strength after dismissing the Goolie XI for just 150 in their first innings and pushed their lead past the 400-run mark, but they were unable to press home for victory on a rain-hit final day.

The Red Force will begin their regional four-day campaign with a day/night fixture versus the Combined Campuses and Colleges from January 29-February 1 at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.

The Red Force squad is expected to be announced this week.

Summarised Scores:

KHARY PIERRE XI – 331 (Joshua James 74, Cephas Cooper 71; Justyn Gangoo 3/26, Vikash Mohan 2/20) and 275/5 (C Cooper 108 not out, Kamil Pooran 50; Shatrughan Rambaran 1/12) vs JYD GOOLIE XI – 150 (S Rambaran 46, Jordan Warner 27; J James 3/21, Khary Pierre 2/8).