As usual, dining at Krave, Tarouba Plaza, Marabella, was not just about tasty, fulling food but an experience as well, from the atmosphere, including live music at times, to the presentation of the meals.

Krave recently invited several people to try the new menu, which was launched on July 7, providing samples of the appetisers and desserts, and a main course dish.

The night began with drinks. As usual, bartender Ravi Deonarine dazzled with his creations. Not only did they delight the taste buds, but no one could ever say that the alcohol was “watered down” as Deonarine often finds the perfect balance between flavour and alcohol content.

In fact, there was a Long Island Iced Tea the likes of which I had never tasted before. Not only were the ingredients premium, but Deonarine opted out of any juice or cola so that the drink was 100 per cent alcohol, except for the lime garnish.

Despite the strength of the drink, the taste was not compromised.

Next were the appetisers. There were Mint Lamb Cubes served on a bed of tomato chutney, which perfectly balanced the salt of the minced lamb.

The Crab Cakes served on a pineapple coconut coulis had a crisp outer layer, and the well-seasoned crab meat sat on what reminded me of coconut and pineapple flavoured marshmallow frosting.

The Shrimp Cocktail Timbal with guacamole in a Sriracha sauce was inspired. The shrimp were layered with pastry disks which added texture and a bit of sweetness to the already scrumptious shrimp. For the vegetarians, there was hummus served on a crostini and topped with mushrooms; and Jardinière mixed salad with a mandarin vinaigrette.

Around the table, the guests chose lamb, pasta, chicken, steak, pork, fish, and seafood including Bacon Wrapped Jumbo Shrimp and Classic Seafood Paella.

Although their hunger was satisfied after the delicious appetisers, when the attractively arranged plates arrived, they could not say no to at least a taste. Of course it did not stop at a taste and hums of approval or exclamations of delight could be heard around the table.

One person could not help herself and, although warned to save room for dessert, she ate all of her Sous Vide Lamb Shank.

Dessert was a production with a “live table side” finishing element. There was pouring, there was melting, there was steaming and there was fog.

The Exotic Chocolate Sphere is a chocolate dome surrounding a spiced caked and dark chocolate truffle. A warm Vanilla Passion sauce was poured over the dome, melting it onto the cake. The Poire á la Vide is a poached pear stuffed with pear cheesecake.

A sorrel sauce with star anise and cinnamon was poured onto the pear producing fog similar to that made from dry ice. Both were a delight to see and taste.

The chocolate dishes were rich and moan-inducing; the Kremlin Custard, a goat cheese custard, was creamy and smooth; and pieces of cake sponge or sponge, not to be mistaken for sponge cake, added yet another element of interest with its texture which was somewhere between cake and bread.

The desserts were delicious, nothing was too sweet, and all the ice creams and sorbets were made from scratch in the Krave kitchen.

Consultant, Leslie Ann St John, added that the new desserts were extremely innovative and feature elements which have not traditionally been seen in this country such as edible flowers, goats cheese, rice, basil ice cream and fruit soup.

Although the previous dinner menu was only about seven months old, Krave refused to allow their guests to become tired of the same choices. “This is an all new menu. Some items were included which guests may recognise as past Meal of the Month choices.

These were extremely popular and so we added them to the regular menu – The Seafood Tempura Basket and the Thai Curry Pork Loin are two such examples,” said Krave director Damion Persad.

“Executive chef Dominique Beens and Mr Persad are keen followers of the global food scene and believers that guest in Trinidad and Tobago should have access to food experiences similar to those in other markets. The menu is also shaped by customer feedback and response.

Krave guests will recognise some of Krave’s Meal of the Month offerings which, when they were discontinued, had customers “kraving” more,” added St John. She said the lamb dishes were irresistible to guests and the Indian inspired Chicken with Caramelized Tomatoes and Cashew Nut Gravy, which features rich aromatics and a smooth finish, was already a guest favourite.

The new dinner menu is available from Thursday to Saturday.

Harriott was one of several people Sunday Newsday spoke to find out how stressed the public is, their coping mechanism and level of awareness on the topic of mental illness after yesterday’s lead story about 11,000 cases of mental illness as reported by the South West Regional Health Authority.

Harriott has had to overcome many stressful moments, much greater than worry about the cost of school books. Her father committed suicide 13 years ago. Although he was a very active person he went into a deep state of depression which led to him ingesting poison.

“I remember asking my father why he drank the poison but he could not give me a logical answer, he had dementia.

I am aware of how serious mental illness is and on occasions I feel depressed due to financial constraints but I hold myself together for my children. I don’t want them to suffer. I also know about Barataria’s Mental Health and Wellness Centre as being a good facility to help persons as well,” Harriott told Sunday Newsday.

A teenager also spoke about losing someone to suicide.

“I had a friend who committed suicide. She was quite reserved and never socialised much but we never suspected things were so bad until she died,” said 17-yearold Nickell Lewis. He also deals with anger issues and finds prayer to be a great outlet to calm himself. While his friend, Joseph Rogers, also 17, said he believes mental illness has a lot to do with a person’s mentality, as such he tries his best to remain calm or walk away from hostile situations.

Mahaylia Richardson, who also spoke frankly, tries to not get stressed out by the state of the economy and crime.

“It is frightening when I look at the crime situation in our country and the fact that I recently graduated, so getting a decent job is also something I think about, I don’t let it get to me, as life goes on.” Norine Bazie, another interviewee, said she is aware of the many forms of mental illness—anxiety, depression, insomnia and dementia but manages her stress by being active and involved in different activities.

While the stresses of daily life can take many forms, the way people cope with it affects the quality of their lives.

“Mental health issues remain a worldwide phenomenon and the challenges of dealing with mental health is growing,” South West Regional Health Authority acting chief executive officer Gail Miller Meade had said during Friday’s launch of the TT Association for the Improvement of Mental Health in San Fernando.

This week they cut me to the chase, as one morning (before 9 o’ clock too eh), hundreds of messages poured in over an innocent enough question – how important is the “Good morning” text. You know the text I’m talking about, the early morning message (text, WhatsApp, Facebook, IG, Google chat etc etc etc) from someone who makes your heart race a little when that notification goes off, especially if it usually happens around a certain time each day. It’s usually just a simple, “good morning beautiful” or the generic “Have a great day hun”, but to us women, the underlying meaning is so much deeper… or is it really? Does a good morning text really mean the object of your desire cares that much more (or less) for you? The Girlfriends sound off below.

Tats: Morning fab women. Here’s a silly question. Was having this convo with a client this morning. Is it important for us to get acknowledgement from a close male companion, specifically lil texts if possible during the day? He sends you a lil kiss emoji or a simple good morning/good night… no long talk needed… but just a lil check in every so often when possible? Do you ladies care for such things or you don’t see it as important?

Mel: Nah I like a good morning message. It’s says you thought of me but not every everyday… doh mind I eh get one this morning and I toting!!!!!!!

Tats: I was telling my client that I’m a sucker for an unexpected “hey you” in the middle of the day, I like knowing that I cross that someone’s mind.

Mel: Yeah well I guess I’m a sucker too.

Tats: Lord and please respond at some point… not immediately… to any text I may send!

Mel: Like us girls, we doh see each other often but look how close we are as a group because of exactly that. One of us always here to answer another, kinda also means that one human can’t satisfy another cause it is like 10 ah we in here, hahahaha!

Tats: Correct!!

Mel: But Yuh see blue ticks? For someone who is ya nearest and dearest, nah, unacceptable especially when a VN takes two seconds to send!

Tats: If I’m real busy… can’t find time to think straight, I will still find 5 seconds to reach out to a special someone, even if to say… “Babe real busy, can’t talk but hope you having a good one, TTYL.”

Kimba: I think it’s important. A little “good morning” or a “how’s the day sugar”, small gestures go a long way. But also we ladies should understand the etiquette as when to send our own version of this text. I mean first thing in the morning, sure, but you see 10 am on a Monday when you know they have a meeting and then vex when they don’t respond.

Some people do that crap, ‘well let’s see if they answer at the busiest point of their day.’ That’s BS, you setting yourself up for disappointment. To me it’s natural to touch base with your loved one at least once for the day.

Ronz: I like a lil good morning or some sort of greeting. It’s nice to be thought of.

Martie: I have varying responses cause there’s no blanket answer. Firstly, yes. I do agree that a lil message at least once a day, does go a long way. A phone call? Even better.

It’s a simple touch base. Personally, I like a lil more than one.

Now, I also believe that some men take hints for granted and some “play the game” well. There are men who know that women like this, so they do it, for doing sake. Not because they’re genuinely thought of her. I also believe in “equality”.

So yuh see how we like the lil notes? So we send them too.

But don’t not respond to me. Don’t send me a message back nah… you will suck salt for a day or two. Trust me, they notice when you’ve “gone missing”. You could see them every day, and that lil message not there? Suddenly they miss it, I does have my go to reply ready for that? “Oh gosh, hon, I just figured you were busy and didn’t want to disturb you” I would type while rolling my eyes.

Tamz: I like them

Martie: Talking bout text etiquette, when they msg, Doh get overly excited lol, your reply should be cool and easy easy, for example text / reply should be: Hey = Hey, lol Hi = Hi / Hey, lol You’re good babe = Yeah I’m good. You? Not: “Hey” = Awww Heyyyyyy Not “Hi” = Hiiiiiiiiiii

Rors: I know too many women who can’t reign it in…

Martie: Cuz after you get excited and get no more than that, then yuh sour

Rors: He send 1 msg and dem gone with a longggggg paragraph…

Martie: Instead of being happy with the lil message yuh lookin for whole day…

Rors: From the time they come crying showing you the convo… well hunny you went wrong from the _ rst 10 sentences that you respond to his “whoa”…

Martie: Correck

Staci: Talking about texting, have y’all heard about Sarahah?

Ronz: What is this app? Since yesterday I’m seeing it all over.

Staci: It’s the no 1 trending app right now, it means honest in Arabic and it lets users anonymously post what they think of someone on their profile.

Ronz: Geez, like we doh have enough of those out there already?

Staci: To me, it’s like who cares what people think about you anyway? Especially when it’s anonymous you know for sure people coming out bats swinging to be stink and stinker and tell you everything they been wanting to since forever.

De_ nitely a not need to know basis with this one.

Ronz: Exactly!

Staci: And don’t forget for men to be as pervy and creepy without the guilt – no name no shame!

Ronz: Sounds like a horrible app on so many levels.

Kimba: I actually just warned some parents of teenagers in my Alma Mata parent’s group. Just think of the kids and teenagers using this and you know where that’s gonna go!

Ronz: People need to start using their talents and skills for better purposes. If you have something to say to me then say it to my face if you feel it necessary to do so but hell, an app that allows people to just be their worst most awful selves? No bueno!

Staci: The bullying I foresee eh especially with young people, this could be another recipe for a suicide attempts sad to say.

Martie: I agree. Why is it that someone thought it was a good idea though, unlike our initial discussion of cute “good morning gorgeous” messages, this app and the potential messages on it could do way more harm than good!

The Girlfriends is a group of 15 women between the ages of 26 – 45 who are willing to give an unadulterated look into their own experiences. Some names have been changed for privacy.

Ahye was third in heat five in 11.14 seconds to earn the last automatic qualification spot in the heat. Winning the heat was Brazilian Rosangela Santos in 11.04, a personal best, while Mujinga Kambundji of Switzerland also qualified after finishing second in 11.14. Jamaican Simone Facey earned the last qualification spot in the heat when she was fourth in 11.29.

Running in heat six, Baptiste qualified after finishing fourth in 11.21.

Winning the heat was Daryll Neita of Great Britain in 11.15, American Deajah Stevens was second in 11.17, Jamaican Natasha Morrison was third in 11.21 and Ewa Swoboda of Poland was fifth in 11.24 in a season best time.

The top five all qualified for the semi-finals.

TT junior sprinter Khalifa St Fort did not advance to the semi-finals.

St Fort was fifth in heat two in 11.44. Winning the heat was Jamaican Olympic champion Elaine Thompson in 11.05.

Canadian Crystal Emmanuel was second in 11.14 and American Ariana Washington was third in 11.28 to earn qualification to the semi-finals. The top three in each of the six heats plus the next six fastest athletes progessed to the semi-finals.

In the men’s 400m heats, TT runners Lalonde Gordon and Machel Cedenio qualified for the semi-finals. The other TT representative Renny Quow did not qualify. Gordon finished second in heat one in a season best time of 45.02.

The top five athletes in the heat qualified. American Fred Kerley won the heat in 44.92, while Kevin Borlee of Belgium was third in 45.09.

Cedenio was third in heat two in 45.77 to earn the last spot in the semi-finals from the heat.

Winning the heat was South African Wayde Van Niekerk in 45.27, while Italian David Re was second in 45.71. Quow was seventh in 45.95 in heat five.

The first three in each of the six heats qualified for the final along with the next six fastest athletes.

Today, Cedenio will line up in heat three of the men’s 400m semis, while Gordon will face the starter in heat two. The TT pair will aim for a place in Tuesday’s final.

Baptiste will compete in heat one of the women’s 100m semis, while Ahye will be in heat three.

The final of the event is also scheduled for today.

Domonique Williams will be this country’s only participant in the women’s 400m event when she participates in heat four today.

Also today, TT will have two athletes in the men’s 110m hurdles.

Ruebin Walters will face the starter in heat two, while Mikel Thomas will line up in heat five aiming for a spot in the semi-finals later in the day.

Scoring 30 per cent in an exam, I had to take cover and evade my parents because I knew what was coming my way. For a gentle reminder, if we were to take 30 per cent out of a hundred cases it means 70 of them are just floating around and the perpetrators are still at large.

I wonder in the position of someone in charge, or even as a member of a team who is responsible for crime, how impressed would I have been? Speaking from my heart, very disappointed.

Let us not find comfort with the theme “international bench mark.” The fact remains, as far as I am concerned, as a citizens of TT one serious crime not solved is one too many.

If we are going to produce any type of excellent standard in this area we need to aim high. The records are there to show how many innocent lives have been murdered within the last couple years and no one has been brought to justice.

So with all due respect to the TT PS, it is good to know that you have improved in the area of serious crime but in no way is 30 per cent good enough. Much more work needs to be done. It is about time some level of safety be restored in the country and our protective service has that responsibility.

ARNOLD GOPEESINGH San Juan

I await a tribute calypso to these heroes, past and present.

First, I will start with Anthony “Mauby” Weekes, Roy “Jibum” Gamble and Trevor “Dobar” Cooper of the Casablanca. These retired pannists were brilliant but did not push on to become soloists, likewise Pan Trinbago president, Keith “Bald Head” Diaz.

I am sure they would have enriched the pan landscape as did pan supremo Emanuel “Cobo Jack” Riley; another supremo, Earl “Barney” Rodney; Len “Boogsie” Sharpe; Ray “Sugar Ray” Holman; Robert “Sugar Hand” Greenidge; Clive “Telly” Telemaque; Jason “Peanuts” Isaac; Dennis “Smithy” Smith; Andy Narell; Jason Baptiste and, the female heavyweight champion of the double seconds, the lovely Natasha “Tasha” Joseph.

Congratulations to other players of the second pans who are yet to achieve greatness. Keep on!

KEITH ANDERSON via email

It is either of two things: someone is not communicating effectively that these are among the harshest economic times we have ever faced as a country, or someone just does not care. It is impossible to believe the latter. Since it was labour on show, trade union leaders with their threat of worse to come, must know that some of their bluster is counter-productive. But it behoves all to be aware of some key economy variables which should form the backdrop to all action.

In recent years, we have suffered a decline in energy earnings due to lower prices and falling output.

This has been directly responsible for lower government revenues.

Income fell by 35 per cent to $37 billion between 2014 and 2016.

Total revenue was lower by 24 per cent in the first half of the 2016/17 financial year despite energy receipts being higher in the previous fiscal year. We have also seen our net international reserves drop from $10.4 billion as of May 2014 to $8.95 billion at the end of May, resulting in export coverage moving down from 12 months to 10.

To address the deficit, the initiatives taken by the government included drawing down US$251 million (TT$1.7 billion) on the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund (HSF) on March 16, as well as borrowing domestically to help finance its operations during the first six months. These steps were taken because the government did not, by its own admission, want to stall the economy and cause suffering.

The government had hoped that it would not have to introduce austerity measures. Clearly market conditions in the hydrocarbon market suggests that more aggressive fiscal consolidation measures are required.

Government also borrowed $3.5 billion on the domestic capital market through the issuance of three bonds. The Mid-Year Budget Review pointed out that the new set of borrowing has increased the ratio of public sector debt to GDP from 60.1 per cent at the end of 2015/16 to 61.1 per cent of GDP at the end of March. Generally, the IMF has considered a ratio of 60 per cent as a threshold above which the result is negative growth.

Currently, we are seeing companies such as the Agricultural Development Bank, undergoing wage negotiations with resulting staff protests fully supported by the union. One has to wonder as to the financial state of the company, especially since they are allocated subventions that we are not even sure they receive. Can the company afford salary increases to the tune of 14 per cent at this time? All stakeholders need to exercise care about the positions they advance, especially as the IMF has called for policy changes such as fiscal adjustment, structural reforms to enhance our foreign exchange earnings capacity, procurement reforms, easing the costs of doing business even further, modernising financial supervision and reforms to increase the scope of growth and diversification.

While the unions must calm the waters, and negotiate hard, the government must more effectively communicate and present the true state of affairs, engage the population, lead by example, present a vision, an economic plan on which we all can agree, and get buy-in from key stakeholders. Clearly what is being demanded does not appear to reflect any appreciation of the current economic conditions.

The private sector, especially those operations that are still reaping huge profits, must desist sending people home, and instead must appear to be understanding of the difficulties faced and offer solutions that appear conscious of the suffering of the less deprived. Our key stakeholders must be more mature in the face of extreme challenges: nothing less is acceptable. It can’t be that we just don’t care.

However, TriniTrolley.com is offering that and more with their new Rentals Department.

Launched in April, the website allows those who qualify to rent, or rent-to-own items including party accessories like bouncy castles, above ground pools and bubble machines; clothes including wedding dresses, designer handbags and shoes; tools; books; video games; movies; sports equipment and jewellery. And by mid-August, vehicles would also be available.

CEO of TriniTrolley, Mazuree Ali said all the items available on the website were stocked and delivered within 48 hours. However, if there was something not on the list of items, the customer could request it and, if feasible, TriniTrolley would purchase the item.

“Now you could rent, or rent-to-own things that you could not have before. The difference between this and hire purchase is that the customer does everything online and the customer chooses the time frame to pay off for the items.

So you set the terms, in terms of what you could afford and when you want to pay off for it. There’s no fixed, long-term contract or anything like that,” said Mazuree Ali, CEO of TriniTrolley.

He explained that the customer could chose between three to 36 months and, using the cite’s online calculator, work out the monthly instalment they could afford, depending on the time period, before agreeing to it. Even after the application was approved and some payments were made, the customer could adjust the remaining instalments.

Ali said applications, submission of documents, and approvals were granted online, and since the department was launched in April, thousands of people have applied.

Requirements for application include a job letter, pay slip, utility bill, and two forms of identification.

“It’s seamless. You don’t have to walk into any store or take time off. There’s no back and forth. You submit your documents, you see what you’re paying up front, there’s no long-term contract, and we deliver everything to you afterwards.” He said some of their customers might not have been able to get loans but with TriniTrolley’s Rental Department, no collateral was necessary.

However, the company partnered with credit agencies to do background checks.

“There are criteria in place so not everyone is approved. But this is to make sure that, not only the company but the customer is protected so that they do not make purchases they really can’t afford.” Ali said TriniTrolley started working on the project last year because they realised people would be going through some hard economic times and the company, along with its partner, MasterCard, wanted to help.

One of TriniTrolley and MasterCard promotions involved the grocery service.

Anyone who pays their TriniTrolley grocery bill with their MasterCard credit card or MasterCard prepaid debit card would get 12.5 per cent off their total bill, as well as free delivery. “That was an idea that MasterCard came up with and the promotion will run until the end of the year.

Again, the whole idea is about trying to assist people in these difficult times.” Ali added that some rental items require a down payment but if the form of payment agreed to was MasterCard, the deposit would be waived so that customers only pay the instalments.

Another division of which Ali was very proud, was TriniTrolley Shops For Me.

If a customer wanted to shop on an international shopping website, such as Amazon or eBay, but did not have a credit card or skybox, or did not want to risk credit card fraud, TriniTrolley would buy the product and the customer would pay for it upon delivery.

“Instead of going through your courier company and paying a bunch of different fees, we let you know the total cost up front.

The consumer sends us links for the items they want from these international websites and we quote them a final price for the items so they know all the included final costs upfront so they are able to make an informed decision.” Ali said shopping through TriniTrolley would translate to “huge savings” as the cost to ship with them was lower than any courier company in the country. To sweeten the pot, when a customer pays with their MasterCard, they get a seven per cent discount.

Permell in a statement yesterday as head of the group said he has followed with “great consternation and dismay” the repeated attempts by Imbert to “discredit the legitimate cause of the over 15,000 Clico EFPA policyholders (including myself) who accepted the Government’s offer in 2012 in a Hobson’s choice take-it-or-leave-it scenario.” “Notwithstanding, the fact that all, we as policyholders are simply seeking to do is to get what is contractually due to us from Clico, not the Treasury.” He said this strategy has manifested itself in statements made by Imbert at the weekly post-Cabinet media conference on Thursday and then repeated in a Ministry of Finance media release on Friday. In the release, the ministry reported its records indicate that on May 22, 2012, Permell accepted the former People’s Partnership government’s offer for purchase of his Clico policies by virtue of deeds of assignment and declarations of trust in respect of two executive flexible premium annuities.

The ministry said Permell received the sum of $75,000 in cash for each policy with the rest being paid in bonds and in full and final settlement in May 2012, Permell relinquished all claims to these policies. The ministry also said Permell signed a clear and unequivocal waiver of all future claims against Clico with respect to these policies and it had been advised that Permell no longer had any contractual relationship with Clico.

Permell in response had said he was neither a Clico nor a CLF shareholder but maintained that he was a Clico policyholder.

In Permell’s release yesterday he speculated on why he being “targeted.” “It would appear that the sole purpose of this strategy is to target me, personally, as a citizen of this country with the goal of intimidating and muzzling me for speaking out and raising legitimate concerns about the controversial steal of a deal transfer of No Man’s Land from Clico to the Government at $10 a square foot, among other things. An issue, I might add that is one of national importance, affects all Clico policyholders and will not go away anytime soon.

The irony, however, is that by targeting me the ‘honourable’ minister has now unwittingly provided our group with a opportunity and a broader national platform from which to highlight the very issue that he is raising as to whether this group of policyholders are still contractually due any money from Clico once the Government is repaid.

“However, the bigger question for the national community and Prime Minister Dr Keith Christopher Rowley is: Has Minister Imbert crossed the line? Since as an elected official of the Government, he has now placed in the public domain by way of media release the private and confidential details of an ordinary citizen like myself by identifying not only the number of policies that I have with Clico but the payment made to me in respect of the Government’s offer, thereby not only placing me at risk but also the members of my family.” Permell said Imbert has also not done the Rowley administration any favours “since his actions would invariably have the knock on effect of undermining (some may say further undermining) confidence and trust by the public in a key institution of State such as the Ministry of Finance.” “Has this Minister now crossed the line?… In other words, if this minister is allowed to do this to me what about you my fellow citizens, can your private and confidential information also end up on the streets?…”

Sent in, Stars laboured to 132 for nine off their 20 overs in an innings at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground that stuttered and stumbled throughout without ever finding momentum.

Opener Andre Fletcher topscored with 26 from 27 balls while Kyle Mayers lashed 23 from 15 deliveries batting at number nine, but the two were the only ones to pass 20.

Pakistan leg-spinner Shadab Khan finished with two for 15 from his four overs to claim Manof- the-Match honours while captain Dwayne Bravo ended two for 23 in his first competitive game in seven months following a return from injury.

In reply, Colin Munro smashed an unbeaten 66 off 39 deliveries and fellow New Zealander Brendon McCullum, 58 not out off 27 balls, as TKR stormed to their target in the 11th over without so much as breaking a sweat.

Champion off-spinner Sunil Narine failed in his role as opener, falling for a first-ball ‘duck’ in the first over with five runs on the board but Munro and McCullum tore the Stars bowling apart in a 132-run, unbroken second wicket stand.

Munro belted seven fours and three sixes to post his half-century off 26 deliveries while McCullum blasted a brace of fours and seven sixes as he raced to his fifty off a mere 24 balls.

Neither batsman spared an inch. Munro single-handedly took 21 runs from the seventh over sent down by captain Sammy but was given a life on 46 off the final delivery when he was dropped in the deep by Mayers.

McCullum muscled 18 runs from the ninth bowled by off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall as TKR raced past the 100-run mark and Munro put stars out of their misery two overs later when he cleared the ropes at long-on with left-arm seamer Mitchell McClenaghan for the winning runs. Earlier, key men Johnson Charles (two) and Pakistan’s Kamran Akmal (five) perished cheaply leaving Stars on 27 for two in the fourth over.

Fletcher, who struck four fours, joined with Marlon Samuels (13) to add 28 for the third wicket – the best stand of the innings – but once Samuels picked out Darren Bravo at deep point with pacer Kevon Cooper in the seventh over, the innings slumped and never recovered.