Impressive T&T retain President’s Cup title

Nov 06, 2009 Sports

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As lackluster Guyana lose by 81 runs

Trinidad and Tobago retained their Regional One-Day cricket title with an emphatic 81-run win again a Guyana team whose powerful batting line-up faltered badly on a slow track after they had drooped 7 catches in last night’s Presidents Cup final at the Guyana National Stadium.
Favorites T&T again looked a well prepared cohesive bunch of happy players in contrast to the under-prepared home team which lacked the energy level shown by the visitors even during the pre-match practice session yesterday.
The absence of key player Shivnarine Chanderpaul at the presentation ceremony after he made a duck last night emphasized the disunity in the Carl Moore managed side which included four players selected to tour Australia last this month.
T&T won the toss and elected to bat in sunny conditions on a slow track and the team capitalised on crucial misses in the field to score 286-6 with the gifted Daren Bravo leading the way with a majestic 76 from 106 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes.
Although Skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan hit 60 from 65 balls with 7 fours and shared in an 89-run 2nd wicket stand with Travis Dowlin (41), Guyana fell for 205 in 44.2 overs as the tail wagged with the match well out of the home team’s reach.
Man-of-the-Match Kieron Pollard followed up his 50-ball 57 with 3-38, Ravi Rampaul (2-31) and Dave Mohamed (2-38) to bowl T&T, who reached the final of the Champions League in India 2 weeks ago, to their 10th title as they kept their unbeaten record in finals against Guyana intact in the 4th final between the 2 sides since their first in 1995.
Daren Ganga, who contributed a 52-ball 46 and shared in a 93-run 3rd wicket stand with the left-handed Daren Bravo, became the most successful captain in regional One-Day cricket with last night’s victory, surpassing the 3 titles held by Brian Lara and Guyana’s Carl Hooper.
Adrian Barath (18) was well caught at point off Esuan Crandon at 24-1 while Lendl Simmons (31), who was dropped by wicketkeeper Delbert Hicks on 16, was run out by outstanding work from Hicks, who hit the stumps after collecting the ball at short leg to leave the visitors on 71-2.
The level-headed Ganga and the enterprising Bravo then entertained the large and colourful crowd with some delightful shots before Ganga, dropped twice, fell to Royston Crandon at 164-3.
Dwayne Bravo (3) again failed to get going and was run out by a direct hit from Veerasammy Permaul after his younger brother had lofted off-spinner Narsingh Deonarine to long-on.
From 215-5, the powerful Pollard and Denesh Ramdin then launched a vicious attack on the locals who put down both batsmen in a sloppy fielding display. Pollard clobbered some huge sixes off Esuan Crandon while Ramdin was also in pugnacious mood after being dropped twice.
A floored high catch to short fine-leg by Sarwan off Royston Crandon with Ramdin on 16, was greeted by resounding boos around the ground and the West Indies keeper made the Guyanese pay with a couple of sixes over extra cover off Royston Crandon.
Ramdin’s unbeaten 44 lasted just 24 balls and was decorated with 4 sixes and 2 fours as he and Pollard took 44 from the 5-over batting power play overs as Guyana’s cricket lacked imagination.
Chris Barnwell insisted on bowling short on a docile surface and was clobbered for 61 runs from his 8 overs while Esuan Crandon, Deonarine and Royston Crandon all conceded over 50 runs on the large ground.
Permaul (0-37 from 10) was the only Guyana bowler to escape punishment as Guyana, without a title at this level since 2005, looked out of the game for most of the one-sided contest.
Chattergoon (2-from 11 balls) was leg before to Rampaul at 3-1 in the 6th over. Dowlin, who took 21 balls to get off the mark and Sarwan, struggled to get the ball off the square as Rampaul and leg-spinner Samuel Badree kept the shackles on the batsmen and not even the Slingers Sound System and the exotic dancing Carib Girls beyond the boundary could satisfy a ground which became increasingly agitated as Sarwan and Dowlin missed some wild swipes and had all sorts of problems against the short-pitched bowling of Rampaul and later Dwayne Bravo and Pollard on a track which offered more life to the bowlers under lights.
Dropped on 29 off Pollard, Dowlin hit Pollard for a straight six and a four off his first two balls before he was removed by Mohamed at 92-2.
Sarwan, who was struck on his shoulder by Rampaul, soon ran himself out after the tournament’s leading scorer Narsingh Deonarine (2) gloved a hook to the keeper and Chanderpaul and Barnwell fell for ducks in the same over to Pollard as Guyana slumped to 98-5.
Sarwan’s demise 27 runs later signaled the end of the Guyana run chase although Royston Crandon hit 3 fours and a six in a 55-ball 46 before he was stumped off Mohamed.
Delbert Hicks, who struggled with the gloves, never suggested permanence and gloved a hook to Ramdin for one off Rampaul as the fast bowlers exposed Guyana’s inadequacies to the short ball while Esuan Crandon was run out for a duck.
Most of the fans left the venue after Sarwan’s demise and those who stayed were entertained by a fighting 28 from Permaul and 10 not out from Bishoo before Badree ended the match by getting rid of Permaul who hit 4 fours from 35 balls.

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