Marooners shipwreck Red Force to join Jaguars in Super50 final

– Jordan takes 5 for 18…

Trinidad and Tobago Red Force came into the second semis with 10 Windies selected players and the reputation of being the overwhelming favourites to join the Guyana Jaguars in the finals; but nobody asked for the opinion of the Combined Campus and Colleges (CCC) Marooners, who trounced the Red Force team by seven wickets on the back of Akeem Jordan’s brilliance.
Playing at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, the Red Force, who took first strike, saw the explosive Simmons and Narine, opening the batting, being removed in the first 14 balls of the innings. Lendl Simmons was removed by Jermaine Levy with only three runs on the board.
The horror continued for the Red Force batsmen with all of the axed West Indies players scoring a paltry 9 runs combined.
Sunil Narine was the first of Akeem Jordan’s five victims, scoring only one run. Then the classy left-handed Darren Bravo was bowled all over the place by

Jordan, who continued a magical spell in which he removed Jason Mohammed and Denish Ramdin in the space of two deliveries.
However, the Red Force leading batsman this season, Nicholas Pooran, looked dangerous as he smashed a maximum; but his stay at the crease was brief, as the impressive Jordan claimed the prize wicket.
The senior Bravo brother, Dwayne, who recently announced his retirement from international cricket, offered some resistance as he top-scored with 27 from 36 balls, including three boundaries and one maximum. Keiron Pollard and Rayad Emrit likewise amassed double figures with scores of 16 and 15 respectively; but the Red Force were nevertheless bowled out for an embarrassing 92.
Evidently, Akeem Jordan was the pick of the bowlers with his career best 5-18 in 10 overs. He even had 4 superb maiden overs. Khesan Ottley supported with two wickets as the confident Marooners completed a spirited bowling performance.
In reply, the Marooners made light work of the chase, with few hiccups. Opener Kyle Corbin was removed by spin king Sunil Narine for 2 runs in the third over, while Amir Jangoo was out early to Rampaul for 11 runs.
Red Force tried to fight back, but it was Kjorn Ottley (39*) and the eldest player in the Marooners team, Carlos Brathwaite, (29*) who saw their team over the line in the 17th over. Three Red Force bowlers were used, with Narine, Rampaul and Pierre picking up one wicket each. The underdogs CCC Marooners will now join powerhouses Guyana Jaguars in the Regional Super 50 tournament on Sunday October 28. Will the Guyana Jaguars cruise to victory, or will the Marooners spoil their party? (Brandon Corlette)