Trinidad and Tobago captain Samara Ramnath led from the front against Jamaica with an unbeaten innings of 49 from 58 balls as the defending champions strolled to a seven-wicket victory in their Cricket West Indies (CWI) Rising Stars Women's Under-19 Championships match at the Sir Frank Worrell Cricket Ground, UWI, St Augustine on July 7.
In a game which was reduced to 18 overs per side due to rain, TT limited Jamaica to a meagre total of 82 for seven, with opening bowler Kenika Cassar (three for 18) proving to be the star with the ball. Cassar dismissed opener Judeen Ebanks (four) and Neveah Webley (duck) via the lbw route in the third over, and she also saw the back of top-scorer Abigail Bryce (25 off 36 balls) when she returned to the attack in the 15th over.
Bryce and skipper Jaunel Deers (13) were the only batters to score in double figures as the Jamaicans struggled to get a grip of the bowling from the hosts. Four TT bowlers took a wicket apiece, with Ramnath and Zaheera Mohit returning identical figures of one for 11.
In the reply, Ramnath lost opening partner Amrita Ramtahal (one) in the fourth over, with the score on 12, when she was bowled by Aneisha Miller (two for 16).
Ramnath then shouldered the responsibility in pursuit of the modest total as she dominated a 54-run partnership for the second wicket with Brianna Harricharan (11). It took a piece of brilliance from Bryce to dismiss Harricharan, as the former took a stunning catch running in from mid-on after the TT batter miscued a delivery from Moniqueca Reid. TT were well-poised for the win at 66 for two in the 13th over.
Miller got the wicket of Sameera Naidoo (three) in the 16th over, but Ramnath and new batter Deliannys Espinoza (three not out) guided TT over the line with seven balls to spare as they grabbed a second straight victory.
At the Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA) in Tarouba, Guyana put in a terrific bowling effort to bowl out Barbados for a paltry 52 as they eked out a narrow five-run win after posting a meagre 57, batting first. It was Guyana's third straight win in the tourney following victories over TT and Jamaica.
At the Diego Martin Sporting Complex, Leeward Islands captain Jahzara Claxton put in a fine all-round performance with 21 runs and figures of four for seven as she led her team to a 33-run win over Windward Islands. Leewards got to 84 for three, before bundling out the Windwards for just 51 in 16.3 overs – grabbing their second win in the tourney in the process.
On Tuesday, TT will aim to continue their winning streak when they meet Zaida James and the Windwards from 10 am at the BLCA.
Summarised Scores:
JAMAICA — 82/7 from 18 overs: Abigail Bryce 25, Jaunel Deers 13; Kenika Cassar 3/18, Zaheera Mohit 1/11) vs TT – 83/3 from 16.5 overs (Samara Ramnath 49 not out, Brianna Harricharan 11; Aneisha Miller 2/16, Moniqueca Reid 1/12). TT won by 7 wickets.
GUYANA — 57 from 17.2 overs (Tilleya Madramootoo; Erin Deane 4/5, Nia Wood 2/8) vs BARBADOS 52 from 17.1 overs — Elecia Bowman 15, N Wood 12; Danellie
