ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Ace opener Lendl Simmons blamed an imperious cent as Trinidad and Tobago Red Force invaded their first domestic 50-over title in five years by crushing Guyana Jaguars by 152 runs in a dreaded Super50 Regional Cup final here last night.
Behind Simmons’ career-best 146 balls off 145 balls, Red Force piled up a massive 362 for five off their 50 overs – the fifth highest total in Super50 history – after being asked to bat first for the first time in the tournament at Coolidge Cricket Land.
Veteran fast bowler Ravi Rampaul (4-52) and his teenager, Jayden Seales (3-40), then dismantled the Jaguars’ top order to send the pubs crashing to 55 for six at the end of the 10th over .
With victory all but certain, all-rounder Raymon Reifer scored at the top with 97 out of 112 deliveries, inspiring a defiant lower-order resistance before being left short of a well-deserved hundred, as Jaguars fell to 210 all out in the 44th over. The result gave Red Force the distinction of playing unbeaten in the tournament while for Jaguars, the defeat saw them extend their 16-year drought without a 50-over domestic title.
“It’s just a win,” said Red Force emphatic captain Kieron Pollard afterwards.
“No matter what, every time I get a chance to step on the cricket pitch, you want to do well as an individual and a team and you want to win.
“I thank God for giving us the opportunity to come out here and really prove that we are the best team in the Caribbean this year.”
Jaguars captain Leon Johnson, meanwhile, was mourning for his side’s efforts.
“We were not on our A game today,” he said. “I thought Red Force was better than us. I think implementing our shots in the power play has really cost us. ”
Earlier the Jaguars had been completely disbanded after 36-year-old Simmons took the stage with his second hundred of the campaign and the highest score in a Super50 final.
He broke 15 fours and seven sixes, inspiring several partnerships as Red Force took advantage of bowling Jaguars outfield.
His opening partner Evin Lewis hit 57 off 53 deliveries while left-back Darren Bravo hit 47 off 52 balls and Nicholas Pooran, another left-footed, 15-ball 39.
Fast bowler Romario Shepherd finished with two for 105 but lacked discipline, and dropped runs throughout his 10-over spell.
The Red Force start was typical of a blaze as Simmons and Lewis put forward 121 for the first wicket in quick time, to deny the Jaguars any early success.
Left-hander Lewis, who hit three fours and four sixes, was the first to fall when Gudakesh Motie’s left-arm spinner went out in the 20th over but Bravo joined Simmons to add another 100 for the second wicket.
Bravo hit three fours and two sixes and appeared for his half-century when a wide ball from left-arm sailor Reifer smashed Shepherd to grab a diving catch in the third short man in the 39th over.
By then, Red Force was in full control at 221 for two and then a series of solid partnerships drove them past the 300 run mark.
Simmons, who reached three figures in the 37th over to register his seventh A-list debut, posted 67 with Pooran for the third wicket and another 21 for the fourth with captain Kieron Pollard (23), before dying in the 45th over in the end up, picking Shepherd to Shimron Hetmyer running back in the middle.
Pollard and Denesh Ramdin, with 18 unbeaten 27, then added 48 for the fifth wicket to further punish the Jaguars.
Facing a steep minimum run rate of 7.26, Jaguars quickly crumbled under the weight of the scoreboard.
Tevin Imlach played around full-length distribution by fast bowler Anderson Phillip (2-40) and was lbw for five in the third over with the score at 17.
Hetmyer, left, a hundred in the semi-final last Thursday, arrived at the crease with the weight of the running hunt on his shoulders and briefly raised hopes of other special pubs.
In the next game from Phillip, the fifth of the posts, Hetmyer punished the 24-year-old player, belting three fours and a top break for six, to race to 20 off 12 balls.
But three balls later in Rampaul’s next game, Hetmyer reluctantly beat wide delivery and edged a simple catch to wicket keeper Ramdin at 40 for two.
His dismissal triggered a slide that saw five wickets fall for 15 runs in the space of 28 balls, eliminating any chance the Jaguars had of victory.
Chandrapaul Hemraj pulled the first ball of the next over from Seales and was caught by Phillip on the ropes a deep square back for 14 and seven balls later Johnson Rampaul steered Phillip in a guile to ruin without scoring.
Chris Barnwell was caught in the middle of the deep wicket by Mohammed for five, topping a draw in Seales in the ninth before Shepherd (4) missed a defensive prod ahead and got his trunk off Rumpul at the end of the 10th over.
Reifer, who counted seven fours and three sixes, then put 39 on for the seventh wicket with Kevin Sinclair (19), 38 for the eighth wicket with Veerasammy Permaul (13) and 71 with Motie (28) for the ninth but those partnerships only delay the inevitable.