BARBADOS--The Netherlands cricketers wrapped up its first win in the Caribbean T-20 with a thorough 26 run win over Combined Colleges and Campuses (CCC) in Barbados, yesterday. The CCC, which is based in Barbados and comprises many Barbadians, was outclassed in familiar conditions by a more determined and confident team.
Opening batsman Michael Swart whacked an entertaining 57 from 43 balls to help his team post the challenging total of 160 for three. This is the first time the Dutchmen scored more than 100 in the tournament. Their previous scores were 73 and 91.
Stefen Myburgh with 28 from 27 balls batted well together with Swart as they added 70 for the first wicket. Kervezee was left not out for a solid 36 from 31 balls.
Mudassar Buhkari, who hit 16 not out, clobbered a four and a six off the last two balls of the innings. Captain Peter Borren, 12 from 10, added valuable runs at the end.
In reply, CCC crumbled for 134 after the 20 overs. Kyle Mayers led the way with 24, while Kyle Hope and Ryan Wiggins hit 21 apiece.
Rommel Currency, the CCC captain, was dropped four times by the Dutch fielders, inside the first five over. Currency fell for a charmed 14 off 13 balls. The Dutch side floored just below 10 catches which must be corrected if they are to challenge the Jamaicans tomorrow.
On Tuesday night, West Indies and Windward Islands captain Darren Sammy marshalled the latter team to its third consecutive win in the Caribbean T-20. The win placed the Windward Islands at the top of Group A with 12 points. The other semi-final contenders in that group are Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana on eight points apiece. Both teams are scheduled to play their last match today.
For the win, the Windward Islands defeated the Leeward Islands by 22 runs.
The winners chose to bat first, which gave openers Johnson Charles and Miles Bascombe the licence to score as much runs as possible. Both batsmen played a few scintillating shots which were hard on the eyes. The balls went very quickly from the bat to the boundary, but when the two batsmen had walloped the opponents into a corner, fast bowler Gavin Tonge dismissed both batsmen in the same over. They contributed 20 runs each.
After the dismissals of those two batsmen, the Leeward Islands enjoyed a period of serenity but only temporarily. In that period Chesney Hughes floored a catch off Devon Smith that the girls in a softball team would have taken with their eyes close. Smith was finally dismissed for 31 off 29 balls, but it was Sammy with 25 off 15 balls and Shane Shillingford with 21 off 10 balls that ended the innings in a blaze of glory.
Tonge finished with three for 27 and Justin Athanaze three for 14 in four overs.
In response, the Leeward Islands huffed and puffed but were never able to blow the target down. Keiron Powell and Austin Richards Jr added 45 in 6.1 overs to encourage the supporters. Powell, who was the more aggressive of the two, was first dismissed for a top score of 30 off 18 balls. Hughes played purposefully for 23 off 15 balls but ran out of ammunition in the heat of the battle. From that point, the losers found no one to propel the innings forward.
Today matches bring together T and T against Canada from 4:00pm, and Guyana takes on the Winward Islands from 8:00pm.
