A whirlwind 173 from former West Indies opener Lendl Simmons helped propel Central Sports to an emphatic ten-wicket victory over Clarke Road United on Sunday, in the TT Cricket Board (TTCB) National League Premiership, at Invaders Recreation Ground, Felicity.
Resuming day two on 305 for six, responding to Clarke Road's miserly first innings total of 150, Simmons, who cracked a century on day one, continued where he left off.
The 39 year old lashed 11 fours and seven sixes in an all-out assault on the Clarke Road bowlers which last 158 balls.
Terrance Hinds (70), Mikkel Govia (57) and Kjorn Ottley (52) were also among the runs, but it was Simmons' knock that took the game away from Clarke Road. By the time Simmons was finally dismissed off Ahkeel Mollon, Central Sports already had 427 on the board and decided to declare with a lead of 277 runs.
Clarke Road gave a better account of themselves with the bat in the second innings, posting 303 all out. Mark Deyal led with 126 while Shatrughan Rambaran added 74. However, their innings was undermined by veteran TT leg-spinner Imran Khan, 39, who snatched six for 61.
Needing just 26 to win, Clarke Road raced to victory without any hiccups.
At the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain, ace spinner Sunil Narine grabbed six wickets to help the hosts snatch first innings points, by one run, against a battling Merry Boys.
Resuming on 153 for three, in reply to Queen's Park's 238 on day one, Merry Boys got half centuries from Darron Cruickshank (74) and Samuel Felix (55), but no other batsman put up their hand on the day. Narine (6/63) and Bryan Charles (3/48) dashed Merry Boys' hopes as they ended their innings on 237.
Queen's Park closed play on 256 for five with Jyd Goolie (74 not out), Dexter Sween (52 not out) and Isaiah Rajah (50) ensuring the draw.
Summarised Scores: CLARKE ROAD UNITED 150 (Cleveon Kalawan 57, Alex Antoine 8/51) and 303 (Mark Deyal 126, Shatrughan Rambaran 74, Imran Khan 6/61) vs CENTRAL SPORTS 427/7 (Lendl Simmons 173, Terrance Hinds 70, Mikkel Govia 57, Kjorn Ottley 52, Kalawan 4/91, Ahkeel Mollon 2/72) and 27/0.
QUEEN'S PARK 238 (Joshua Da Silva 54, Sunil Narine 50) and 256/5 (Jyd Goolie 74 not out, Dexter Sween 52 not out, Isaiah Rajah 50) vs MERRY BOYS 237 (Darron Cruickshank 74, Samuel Felix 55, Narine 6/63, Bryan Charles 3/48).
POWERGEN PENAL SC 241 (Kashtri Singh 3/44) and 169/6 (Mbeki Joseph 65, Derone Davis 3/26) vs MARCHIN PATRIOTS 262/7 (Evin Lewis 51, Kirstan Kallicharan 50 not out, Kavesh Kantasingh 3/56).
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