From Kerk Higgins in Port-of-Spain | Scorecard Below
Trinidad & Tobago – January 15, 2016: In their fifth game of the WICB’s 2016 NAGICO Super50 Series, the ICC Americas looking home sick, were badly beaten by host Trinidad and Tobago Red Force.
Imran Khan bagged 4 for 25 as ICC Americas were bundled out for 81. Photo by WICB Media/Ashley Allen
Before the start of the game, the Americas opted to change their captain for the remainder of the Series, replacing Ruvindu Gunasekera, with fellow young Canadian batsman Nitish Kumar. After winning the toss, the new captain chose to take first knock, with Akeem Dodson and Steven Taylor as the team’s opening pair, and the Red Force’s Rayad Emrit handling the red cherry.
The Americas started very slowly as Emrit and his new ball partner Narsingh Deonarine were bowling on a very tidy line and length. Emrit had Taylor caught behind off the 3rd ball of his 3rd over, after he played and missed at five consecutive deliveries. Dodson was joined by the skipper Kumar, and the partnership lasted for only four runs, as Kumar pulled a ball from Emrit to deep backward square to become the bowler’s second and final victim of the day.
In came Americas last game’s top scorer Srimantha Adrian Wijeratne, and he looked like he came in to finish where he left off in the last game, as he was the only batsman finding the boundary ropes. With the score on 24, Dodson played an uppishly shot through the off-side and was brilliantly caught by a leaping Kyle Hope. Wijeratne and Alex Amsterdam added 25 runs before Amsterdam played down the wrong ling to a delivery from Narsingh that straightened, and he departed, having only contributed in the single digit column.
The Red Force bowlers continued to apply pressure on the Americas and wickets fell at regular intervals. At 50/6 Timroy Allen walked to the wicket and tried to be aggressive from ball one, it worked somewhat as he struck a few balls over the ropes, however the party came to an end when Allen was the last wicket to fall for the Americas with the score on 81. Wijeratne (30) and Allen (22) were the only batsmen to get into double figures. Imran Khan (4/25) led the way for the Red Force while Akeal Hosein (2/6) and Rayad Emrit (2/19) supported him.
With a mere 82 to get, the Red Force sent out Kyle Hope and Kjorn Ottley to get to the target as fast as possible, and so they did as the Red Force got the runs in 12.5 overs for the loss of only one wicket. Hope walked in and immediately went ahead with the business at hand, as he took 14 runs off the 1st over of the inning which was bowled by Timroy Allen. ICC Americas new skipper kept trying by switching up his bowlers but nothing was working as the opening pair were moving along according to plan.
With the Red Force score on 59 in the 10th over, Danial Ahmed got the breakthrough for his captain bowling Hope for 40. If the Americas thought that the wicket of Hope was a sign of good things to come they were very wrong, as the new batsman, West Indies wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin playing in his first game of this year’s tournament, walked to the wicket and signaled his intentions from the first ball he faced. After 12.5 overs and 97 minutes into the inning Ramdin hit a delivery from Muhammad Ghous over mid-wicket for his 4th boundary bringing an end to the proceedings of the day at the Queens Park Oval. The runs were scored by Hope 40, Ottley 24* and Ramdin 18* The only wicket to fall for the Red Force went to Danial Ahmed (1/13).
The final game for the Americas will be on Sunday when they come up against the Jamaican Scorpions at the National Cricket Centre in Couva. With nothing to play for but pride, the Americas need to win this last game before heading back to the wintry weather of North America.
