RAIPUR, India, CMC – Dwayne Smith and Narsingh Deonarine hit half a century but the Tino Best were alert and single scrambled off the final ball of the match to secure a dramatic five-wicket West Indies Legends over English Legends and a place in the round The Road Safety World Series semi-final here yesterday.
When asked to chase 187 majors for victory at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, the West Indies Legends were hauled in by Smith’s 58 off 31 deliveries and 53 Deonarine not out of 37 balls.
Former West Indies Test captain, Kirk Edwards, made a crucial 34 off 26 balls but died in the last but one. And when captain Brian Lara was knocked off spinner James Tredwell’s penultimate delivery with the level of scores, the result was still up in the air.
However, Best clipped Tredwell to his short square leg and set off for a suicide single with Deonarine, the fielder’s throw at the end of the striker going wide to secure a West Indies victory.
Sent earlier, England Legends finished on 186 for three of their 20 overs with opener Phil Mustard hitting 57 off 41 deliveries and Owais Shah carving 53 not out of 30 balls.
Captain Kevin Pietersen hit an attractive 38 off 24 balls at the top of the order, hitting two fours and three sixes in an opening 81 run stand with Mustard before falling into custody in the wicket off left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn in the 10th . over.
Mustard cracked five fours and three sixes before coming the first of Smith’s two wickets and then Shah carried the inning, posting 42 for third with Jim Troughton (22) and another 38 for fourth with Chris Tremlett (nine not out).
In response, Smith played with freedom to hit nine fours and a couple of sixes, inspiring an opening 55 run partnership with Ridley Jacobs (13) and 32 for the second wicket with Deonarine before holding out the third short man in the eighth over to off Tredwell (2-35).
William Perkins died cheaply at nine in the 10th over but Edwards got to stage a fourth wicket stand with Deonarine, run by 83, and put the upper hand to the Caribbean side.
The left-handed Deonarine struck a half-dozen four while Edwards counted four fours and sixes, putting West Indies within touching distance of their target before the play exploded late.