A mesmerizing four-over spell of bowling by West Indies off-spinner, 27-year-old Anisa Mohammed, spun T&T to a five-wicket victory over Guyana at Providence as the WICB Regional t20 Women’s tournament continued yesterday.
Anisa Mohammed collects her Player-of-the-Match trophy from Grantley Culbard
No Guyanese reached 15 as they limped to 63-8 in 20 overs. Mohammed grabbed 4-9 for T&T who raced to 64-5 with 72 balls to spare despite a slight scare when they lost four wickets for 10 runs.
The game between the Leewards and Windwards was abandoned after the Windwards reached 78-2 from 11 overs and the Leewards did not get a chance to bat. The game began 138 minutes late due to heavy morning rain and was reduced to 11 overs.
Leewards Skipper Shawnisha Hector again bowled with impressive pace and struck West Indies batter Juliana Nero (10) on her head with a bouncer forcing the 37-year-old Vincentian, who played her only Test in 2004 and who was not wearing a helmet, to retire hurt.
Akeira Peters hit an 11-ball 20 with four fours, opener Stacy Ann Adams made an undefeated 19 and Skipper Afy Fletcher scored 10 as both teams got off the mark with two points each.
Jamaica got the better of Barbados by two in the night game. Both teams were unbeaten before the last night game and the win put Jamaica into tonight’s final at Providence. T&T qualified for the final due to their superior net run rate over Barbados.
Stefanie Tailor, who struck seven fours and a six in 68 from 49 balls to take her runs tally to 165, and 23 from Chedean Nation led Jamaica to 125-4 off 20 overs as Deandra Dottin took 3-18 for Barbados who finished on 123-6 despite skipper Shaqnana Quintyne’s 34, Charlene Taitt (23) and Kycia Knight (22) leading the way. Shenel Daley followed up her 5-11 on Friday with 2-12 and got support from player-of-the-Match Taylor with 2-18.
Guyana were off to a laborious start and lost Lashuna Toussaint (4); run out in the fifth over with just five runs on the board and after the six power-play overs, the Guyanese were 8-1.
Guyana’s best batter Shemaine Campbelle struggled for 13 balls for five before she played back and was LBW to spinner Shenelle Lord at 13-2.
By 10 overs Guyana crawled to 22-2 with the dot balls mounting.
Melanie Henry pulled pacer Kirbyina Alexander for four and lofted right-arm spinner Karishma Ramharack over mid-off for a one bounce four but Ramharack got the last laugh when she had Henry caught and bowled for 14 from 24 balls to leave the hosts on 28-3 in the 11th over.
Skipper Tremayne Smartt dumped Lord over long-on for six but it was one of only three boundaries in the entire Guyana innings.
Smartt (14) hit a full toss to mid-on at 45-4 in the 15th to start the ‘Anisa Mohamed show’ as no other batter reached double figures or seemed capable of getting the ball off the square.
Lee Ann Kirby (1-6 from 4 overs) had Akaze Thompson (7) taken at long-on before the last five wickets tumbled for six runs.
Mohamed, the ICC number one ranked female t20 bowler, removed Shabika Gajnabi for a duck before he got Heema Singh (7) and Sabrina Munroe (0) in two balls before Plaffiana Millington (1*) averted the hat-trick. Alexander (0-4 from 3 overs) also bowled a frugal spell.
When T&T began their reply they were off like a runaway train and although Giddings bowled Kirby for six at 9-1 to claim her seventh scalp in the tournament, her over cost 13 runs and after two overs T&T were large and in charge in Guyana’s back yard at 31-1.
Britney Cooper clobbered a four and a six in her 10-ball 18 before she charged Munroe and Campbelle, standing back, threw the wicket down as she was stumped at 37-2.
Stacy Ann King (8) was run out at 38-3 in mix-up, Captain Merissa Aguilleira (2) was stupendously taken at mid-off by Smartt, diving full length to her right off Millington’s first ball without addition to the score.
When Selene O’Neil (3) was removed by Millington at 48-5 the few Guyanese supporters in the Presidential Suite sounded like 10,000 as they urged the girls on. But Rachel Vincent (13) and Mohammed (8) saw their team home with 72 balls to spare.
Guyana and Leewards will play in the 09:00hrs game today to determine the fifth and last positions, while the Windwards face Barbados in the 14:00hrs encounter before the tournament concludes with the final between T&T and Jamaica under lights from 19:00hrs.
(Taken from Kaieteur News; by Sean Devers)