Trinidad & Tobago Red Force win Super50 Cup
A man-of-the-match performance by Lendl Simmons boosted the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force to an impressive victory over the Guyana Jaguars in the final of the CG Insurance Super50 Cup.
The 36 year old batsman scored 146 off of 145 balls as T&T notched up a first innings total of 362 runs. This was the team’s second highest total of all time. And it proved too much for the Guyana Jaguars.
With Trinidad & Tobago going on to win the match by 152 runs, it was the Red Force’s captain Kieron Pollard who ended up lifting the Sir Clive Lloyd Trophy.
2020–21 Super50 Cup
This is now the twelfth time that Trinidad & Tobago has won the Super50 Cup. Held annually, the Super50 Cup, which began in 1972, is one of the oldest domestic List-A competitions. However, this year’s 47th edition, was a downsized version due to the coronavirus.
Canada, the United States, Combined Campuses, and, last year’s winners, West Indian Emerging Team were not participating.
The six teams competing this year were Windward Volcanoes, Trinidad & Tobago Red Force, Jamaica Scorpions, Guyana Jaguars, Leeward Hurricanes, and Barbados Pride.
Also Read: Joshua Da Silva’s time to shine
The Super50 Cup Final: Guyana Jaguars choose to field first
The final, which took place on a warm Saturday at the Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua, got off to a promising start for Guyana Jaguars. Captain Leon Johnson won the toss, but, surprisingly, he chose to field first. Perhaps he had been watching the Pakistan Super League this past week. The first eight matches in that competition had all been won by the chasing team.
However, at the crease, Simmons’ batting quickly made the Jaguar’s captain regret his decision. The Trinidadian hit fifteen fours and seven sixes as, through three batting partnerships, he worked his way to 146 runs. This was his second century of the competition.
Simmons’ innings eventually came to an end when Shimron Hetmyer caught him out off of a Romario Shepherd delivery. But Trinidad & Tobago would go on to end their innings 362-5.
Guyana Jaguars chase 362
Faced with a huge target to chase, Guyana’s top-order batting collapsed as bowlers Jayden Seales, Ravi Rampaul, and Anderson Phillip quickly took wickets. Trinidad & Tobago were looking like romping to victory. But a valiant effort by all-rounder Raymon Reifer helped Guyana get to a respectable score, if not a competitive one.
Reifer made 97 from 112 balls and looked to be on his way to his maiden list-A century. Unfortunately, he was denied this when partner Niall Smith was bowled by Jayden Seales’ yorker-length delivery. With Guyana 210-all-out, Trinidad & Tobago had won the competition.
Lendl Simmons 146 proved more than enough in the end and it saw the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force to victory in the Super50 Cup.
Kieron Pollard all praise for his team
Speaking after the match, Trinidad & Tobago captain Kieron Pollard said, “We came, we saw, we overcame adversity, and we conquered. This is what we came here for. Tonight we demonstrated our strength in the batting and the bowling. Simmons gave us the perfect start and batted deep to make sure we got well over 300. That was a fantastic knock in a final.”
Pollard went on to add, “This was a great match for us and finished off a fantastic tournament. We proved that we are the best in the Caribbean.”
Main Image Credit:
Embed from Getty Images
