Curepe beat Biche for Courts T20 crown

“Man-of-the-Match” Neil Williams set up the well-deserved victory worth $15,000 to the winners with a wellplayed half-century by scoring an undefeated 51 and then taking two wickets for 18 runs in his four overs.

Also making a valuable contribution to the Curepe total was Yosif Ramlogan who made 40 with three boundaries and opening batsman David Adams with 19, while Stepen Bhulawan was left not out on 12.

For Biche, Recaldo Hernandez and captain Ryan Baksh shared two wickets apiece to highlight a disciplined bowling effort by a young team brimming with confidence and relishing their presence for the first time in a national cricket final.

But despite a patient and well-composed 47 runs from former national Under-17 player and opening batsman Navin Bidaisee, Biche were stifled in their run chase by accurate bowling backed up by spirited outfielding from Curepe, and fell 42 runs short of the winning target.

However they started brightly with the opening pair of Bidaisee and Kendon Sutton (17) posting 45 runs for the first wicket in eight overs, but Biche then lost wickets at regular intervals and soon fell behind of the desired run rate as their challenge fizzled out against a clinical Curepe team.

The East Zone team’s most experienced players Neil Williams and Marlon Bharath proved their worth snapping up two wickets apiece, while “Most Valuable Player” of the Tournament, Jamaican fast bowling import Mark Gordon took the other wicket to fall.

Gordon also took home a 40-inch TCL smart television set for his outstanding performance and who was deemed to have made the biggest impact for his team with 10 wickets for 79 runs in 15 overs for an average of 7.9.

Preceding the final was an innovative and exciting Mega Six Tournament which attracted eight of the biggest hitters of the tournament, facing four balls each from a bowling machine for vouchers from Courts worth $3,000, $2,000, and $1,000 respectively.

The winner was Biche Sports captain Ryan Baksh who launched the ball 111 yards, which dwarfed the effort of second placed Rishi Bisnath of Debe T-Birds (90 yards), and that of Junior Sadhoo (Caroni Conquerors) and Linton Sampson (BFL Sports) who tied for the third prize. A bat-off failed to separate them after both made shots measuring 85 yards.

Present at the match and assisting in the handing over of prizes and awards were Courts officials Roger Rambharose (Commercial Director), Nicole Looney-Mills (Public Relations Officer), and Nadine Johnson (Senior Brand Officer).

Also there to meet the players and deliver short addresses were Azim Bassarath, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board, first vice-president Dr Allen Sammy, Cricket Operations Officer Dudnath Ramkessoon, and Chief Executive Officer Suruj Ragoonath.

Courts T20 Inter Club Honour Roll

Golden Bat Award (Most Runs): Sidel Diaz (BFL Sports) 2017 runs

Golden Arm Award (Most Wickets): Mark Gordon (Curepe Sports) 10 wkts

Best Economy Rate: David Sultan (Debe T-Birds) 3.5 runs per over

Most Runs in Final: Neil Williams (Curepe Sports) 51

Most Wickets in Final: Neil Williams (Curepe Sports) 2 for 18

“Man-of-the-Match” in Final: Neil Williams (Curepe Sports)

“Most Valuable Player” in Tournament: Mark Gordon (Curepe Sports)

Inter-Club T20 Winners”: Curepe Sports ($15,000.)

Runners-up: Biche Sports ($10,000)

Second Runners-Up: BFL Sports ($3,000)

Fourth Place: Unity Sports ($2,000)

Courts Mega Six Winner: Ryan Baksh (Biche Sports)

111 yards Runner-Up: Rishi Bisnath (Debe T-Birds)

90 yards Second Runners-Up: Junior Sadhoo (Caroni Conquerors), Linton Sampson (BFL Sports) 85 yards each