The Wildey Cricket Club continued their dominance in this year’s BCA T20 Cup, keeping their unbeaten record intact by defeating the Wanderers Cricket Club (WCC) by 45 runs earlier today. The reigning Three-Day Champions have now won eight matches in the tournament’s group stages, with seven of them coming batting first.
West Indies test captain and skipper of the Wanderers Cricket Club, Kraigg Brathwaite, won the toss and opted to field on a placid surface at Dayrells Road. Entering the game, WCC had won three out of four matches chasing, while Wildey had accumulated an average first innings score of 188 when previously batting first in the tournament.
Their batting supremacy would continue as captain Craig St Hill provided an electric start along with his opening partner, Demetrius Richards, with the two putting on an opening stand of 50 in just 27 deliveries. St.Hill’s contribution of 36 in 25 balls would allow Wildey to get to the halfway stage on 87/1 after ten overs. However, this is where Wanderers would fight back.
WCC banked on their veteran spinners Nikolai Charles and former West Indies captain Kirk Edwards who picked up five wickets between them, conceding just 44 runs in eight overs. In the 12th over, Charles began the carnage taking two Wildey wickets in the same over. Edwards followed from the other end doing similar, with the pair scalping five wickets in three overs. The duo and all-rounder Roshon Primus, who picked up three wickets, would restrict the powerful batting lineup to 156 in 19.5 overs. West Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite chipped in with 27 batting at number 3, following up his scores of 38 and a 12-ball 42 in the tournament. All-rounder Jaden Leacock also registered a crucial 24-ball 28 to take Wildey past the 150-mark.
In reply, Wanderers, missing top-order batters Johnathan Drakes and Shayne Moseley, struggled in the powerplay overs, managing just 35 runs with two wickets falling. However, the massive moment would be when Wildey scalped Roshon Primus, who batted at #3, trying to accelerate the run rate, and was caught at long-off against the bowling of Jaden Leacock for 18.
From there, WCC never had enough in the tank to chase down the total and were plagued by a match-winning spell from Jerome Jones, taking 5-19 in his four overs. The other options complemented his accurate spell, with all five Wildey bowlers taking one wicket, restricting Wanderers to just 111. Kraigg Brathwaite was the only standout with bat reaching 48 from 41 deliveries.
The win means Wildey will finish in the top two of Zone ‘B,’ destined for next week’s Quarter Finals, while Wanderers bow out after the group stages. The Wildey Club has never won the BCA T20 Cup, but with resilient performances like these consistently throughout the tournament, they are undoubtedly a massive favourite. (NU)
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