Pelicans edge Infernos by one-run in tight game

The Barbados Pelicans needed every run and ball to register their first win of the inaugural West Indies T20 Breakout league when they defeated the Windward Island Infernos by one run on Tuesday at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad.

Man of the Match, Shian Brathwaite scored 85 not out and stood in a 99-run partnership with fellow Empire teammate Keving Wickham who made 64 to lead the Pelicans to 199 for 5 in their 20 overs. Captain Nyeem Young grabbed 3 wickets during their bowling innings as Windward fell one run short at 198 for 9.

Being sent into bat, the Pelicans felt a mixed bag of emotions when the powerful Kadeem Alleyne got them off to a fast start, hitting three massive sixes in the first nine balls. Alleyne couldn’t resist the temptation to try for another off the final ball in the second over but was out caught on the square leg boundary for 22, with the first wicket falling on 28.

The Volcanoes then found a groove during the power play with their fast bowlers, picking up the wickets of Leniko Boucher and Shaqkere Parris in consecutive overs, third and fourth, both batters being dismissed for one run. Heavy-hitting Brathwaite, alongside the elegant Wickham, put on an outstanding 99-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Brathwaite’s exhilarating innings took 50 balls and included 9 fours and 4 sixes at a strike rate of 170. Wickham batted 46 balls while striking six fours and 3 sixes before he was bowled at the start of the fifteenth over.

During the final five overs, Brathwaite and Captain Young had a partnership of 6,5 with Young contributing 11 in seven balls as the Pelicans earned an important batting point for the final phase of the innings. However, they missed out on another batting point by one run when they finished on 199 for 5 in their 20 overs.

For the Volcanoes, off-spinner Avinash Mahabirsingh picked up two wickets for 28 runs while fast bowler Keon Gaston grabbed 2 for 38.

In reply, Windward were off to a steady start, scoring at a consistent rate between nine and ten runs per over. Alleyne made the first breakthrough during the third over when he trapped Johann Jeremiah LBW for 8 with the score 26-1. The very next over, Junior Sinclair removed Barbadian Ryshon Williams for 18 as he celebrated with his signature back-flip.

Volcanoes grabbed another bonus point during the power play, 52-2, scoring at 8-runs per over. During the seventh over, captain Alick Athanaze and Akeem Auguste both lost their wickets as the Pelicans regained the advantage with the score on 65-4.

Young then removed Dillon Douglas for 6 to pick up his second wicket with the score 84-5 at the halfway stage of the innings and the game hanging in the balance. Shadrack Descarte and Teddy Bishop formed a 51-run partnership for the sixth wicket before captain Young broke through to remove Descarte for 26 from 16 balls.

Trying to force the tempo, Volcanoes lost consecutive wickets via the run-out route when Ryan John and Bishop were removed. Parris had a hand in three of the four runouts for the Pelicans.

Needing 27 runs to win from the final 12 balls, left-arm pacer Ramon Simmonds conceded 13 from the penultimate over, leaving a target of 24 runs from the final six balls.

Captain Young trusted Trinidadian pacer Sion Hackett to bring home the Pelicans. The first two balls of the over were struck for a six and four by Gaston, the target now 17 in four balls. The third ball from Hackett resulted in a leg bye, which brought a new batter on strike, leg spinner Darel Cyrus. Cyrus scampered two from the fourth ball, which meant the Volcanoes needed 10 from the last two deliveries. Cyrus hoisted a ball full to long-on, which ricocheted off the hands of Joshua Bishop, turning a catch into a maximum. Hackett then bowled a full-pitched delivery to win the game for the Pelicans as the batters were only able to run two before a run-out was forced at the wicket-keeper’s end by Alleyne.

Bishop top-scored for the Volcanoes with 61 in 42 balls while Gaston smashed 30 in 12 balls. Young led the bowling attack with 3 for 29 in his four overs. (ZM)