TT's men's Under-19 cricketers will need to put in a strong batting effort on day two of their Cricket West Indies Rising Stars Men's Under-19 Two-Day Championship fifth-place playoff versus Guyana in Cumberland, St Vincent on July 21 to avoid finishing at the foot of the six-team tournament.
On day one on July 20, TT captain Olando James won the toss and elected to bowl first, with the Guyanese team getting to a solid first-innings total of 249 all out from 75.1 overs.
Guyanese opening batsman Rampertab Ramnauth held the innings together with a patient knock of 79 from 173 balls, with lower-order batsman Andrew Lim frustrating the TT team with an aggressive innings of 53 from 62 balls with two fours and four sixes.
TT had a good enough start with the ball, and the Guyanese were reeling at 127 for six at one stage. However, the Guyanese innings was restored by a 57-run partnership for the seventh wicket between Ramnauth and Lim, before the former was trapped lbw by James (two for 40).
Lim then found another ally in Riyad Latiff (20 off 45 balls), and the pair put on 52 for the eighth wicket before they were dislodged in quick succession by Abdul-Raheem Toppin (two for 24) to leave Guyana's score on 238 for nine.
Toppin finished with the best figures for TT, with James and Andrew Rambaran (two for 43) also grabbing two wickets apiece. Four other bowlers took a wicket apiece.
The TT opening pair of Toppin and Kavir Boodoosingh then had a tricky period to navigate, as they saw their team to the close of play on zero without loss after facing two overs in the final session.
The Rising Stars Championship, which was reduced from a three-day format to a two-day format after the passage of Hurricane Beryl delayed the start of the tournament, has been heavily impacted by rain.
TT's games against Barbados and defending champions Jamaica were both affected by rain and ended in draws, with their last group game against hosts Windwards Islands being abandoned. No play was possible in the latter encounter.
Barbados and Jamaica are currently contesting the final at Arnos Vale Playing Field in Kingstown. Barbados declared their first innings on 200 for nine, with Jamaica getting to 72 for two by the close of play on day one.
Summarised Scores:
Final:
BARBADOS: 200/9 declared (Raneico Smith 50, Nathan Sealy 29; Tamarie Redwood 3/61, Michael Clarke 2/39) vs JAMAICA: 72/2 (Steve Wedderburn 39 not out, Matthew Morgan 28 not out; R Smith 2/16).
Third-place playoff:
WINDWARD ISLANDS: 96 from 32.4 overs (Devonie Joseph 30, Earsinho Fontaine 16; Micah McKenzie 3/16, Mekaili Tonge 2/7) vs LEEWARD ISLANDS: 74/8 (T'yanick Honore 16, Devanand Singh 16; Kirt Murray 3/18, Lee John 3/27).
Fifth-place playoff:
GUYANA: 249 from 75.1 overs (Rampertab Ramnauth 79, Andrew Lim 53; Abdul-Raheem Toppin 2/24, Orlando James 2/40) vs TT 0/0 from 2 overs.
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