After an ordinary showing in the T20 Blaze tournament, defending champions Jamaica finished on a high with a seven-wicket win over Trinidad and Tobago in the fifth and final round.
Chinelle Henry and Chedean Nation added an unbroken 90-run partnership (John Ramsingh photo)
The first of the three matches at the National Stadium began when Jamaica Captain Stafanie Taylor won the toss and elected to field first.
The Trinidadian openers in Stacy Ann King and Lee Ann Kirby added 23 runs for 19 balls before Kirby fell for five. King, Trinidad’s leading run-getter in the T20 Blaze tournament, played her shots, but she added only 17 runs together with Britney Cooper.
King, who fell for 26, including four boundaries, from 17 balls, ended the tournament with 183 runs averaging 45.75. She was out caught by Chedean Nation off the bowling of fast bowler Chinelle Henry. The innovative Cooper lost her Vice Captain, Renice Boyce, who was run out for only one run.
Player of the match Pearl Etienne bowls during her 3-14
The 32-year-old Nation, who bowls gentle medium pace, then removed the established Cooper for 30 from 27 balls after she hit four boundaries, breaking the 42-run stand between Cooper and her captain, Merissa Aguilleira.
Two runs later, Aguilleira departed for 10 from 16 balls when she was run out with the score on 87-5 in 12.3 overs. The Trinidadians needed a decent score to defend; hence, it was Rachel Vincent and Anisa Mohammed, who added 54 runs taking the score to 141- 6, before Vincent was dismissed for 26, including three fours, off 24 balls.
Afy Fletcher took a screaming catch off her own bowling (Brandon Corlette photo)
The innings ended when Mohammed hit a boundary off the final ball giving Trinidad a score of 145-6 in 20 overs. Jamaica’s bowlers shared the wickets among themselves with Nation, Henry, Karla Cohen, and Vanessa Watts grabbing one wicket each.
In Jamaica’s run chase, they encountered two major hiccups in the power-play, losing both openers in Natasha McLean (08) and Jodian Morgan (13). At 23-2 in 4.2 overs, Taylor and Chedean Nation were at the crease, as the two most senior players looked to stabilise the chase.
West Indies and Jamaica Captain Taylor fell for 14 off 17 balls at the half-way stage Trinidad were in front, as Jamaica were reduced to 56-3. But Nation found a reliable partner in Henry, and the duo showed their batting prowess in a match-winning unbeaten 90-run partnership.
Nation, who has 17 T20 Internationals alongside her name, cracked seven boundaries and one six in her Player-of-the-Match performance while Henry played a gem of an innings with 44 from 21 balls, including four boundaries and one maximum.
The Jamaicans finished victorious on 146-3 in 18.4 overs taking the game by seven wickets as T&T failed to defend their T20 Blaze title. Karishma Ramharack, Felicia Walters, and Leandra Ramdenn had one wicket each for Trinidad and Tobago.
Meanwhile, in the second match of the final day of the T20 Blaze, Windward Islands registered an 11-run win over the winless Leeward Islands team. Batting first, Windward Islands scored 115-8 in 20 overs, with Afy Fletcher and Swayline Williams hitting contrasting top scores of 24. Bowling for Leeward Islands, Amanda Edwards and Malissa Howard had two wickets each.
In reply, Leeward Islands fell short by 11 runs ending on 104-9 when their 20 overs expired. Saneldo Willett top scored with a run-a-ball 25 as Leeward Islands were toppled by Player of the Match Pearl Etienne, who grabbed 3-14 in four overs while Stacy Ann Adams had 2-13. Windward Islands Captain Fletcher had 2-23 in her quota of overs.
