By Isaac Lockett
After a rest day yesterday, the Cool and Smooth T20 action resumed on the island of Antigua with an action-packed doubleheader. At the start of the day’s play, there was only one win separating the Empire Nation and the All Saints Pythons; the Nation could almost guarantee a place in the semi-finals with a with while the Pythons needed a win to stay in contention to qualify.
After winning the toss, the Nation elected to bowl first and picked up wickets at regular intervals, with key batters Liam Naylor (0 off 5) and Matthew Forde (3 off 5) missing out. Micah McKenzie has been one of the bowlers of the tournament whilst playing in the green of the Nation and again showed how effective his leg spin is. McKenzie made the 15th over a memorable one, bowling a double wicket maiden and finished with figures of 3-11 from his four overs. The Pythons found resistance through Christopher McBride (24 off 16) and Michael Dover (35 off 27). However, the batting side only managed 95 before being bowled out. Alongside McKenzie, Justin Athanaze (3-15) and Mikyle Louis, who took three wickets in two balls to finish with figures of 1-2 off three balls after being called to bowl for the first time in the tournament, also impressed.
Defending 95 was always going to be a challenge for the Pythons. However, when Forde (1-22) claimed the wicket of Tyrone Williams Jr during the first over, there must have been some hope within the camp. This hope was quickly nullified by the Nation’s pairing of Mikyle Louis (42* off 26) and Matthew Cross (49* off 23), as the bowlers did not have a reply to the dominant hitting display. The partnership took the Nation from 0 to 100, helping the team win by nine wickets with 11.2 overs remaining. The win propelled the Nation to second in the table after the match with a 4-3 record with an impressive net run rate, meaning they have all but secured a spot in the semi-final.
The day’s second game saw the Jennings Tigers face off against the Piggots Crushers. The Crushers won the toss and elected to bat first, knowing that a win was needed. Jedidiah Martin (1-17) picked up an early wicket for the Tigers, as the Crushers found scoring difficult during the early stages. But captain Elroy Francis once again played a captain’s knock helping to solidify the batting sides position. Francis came in at four and found the boundary with regularity hitting seven fours and one six during his 41-ball 54. Enrique Drew came in to join his captain and further bolstered the scoring rate, hitting three sixes during a 13-ball 24. Glenton Williams (2-22) and Winston Nelson (1-18) bowled well for the Tigers during an inning that had lots of twists and turns. The Crushers set the Tigers 150-7, with the Tigers probably feeling that with 13 wides, they made their job more difficult.
During the second inning, the Tigers could not find any footholes to stabilise their chase as wickets fell at regular intervals, and only one batter scored more than 20. Tigers captain Paul Miller scored 26 off 27. However, it was not enough as the Tigers were reduced to nine wickets due to an injury to Almoyie Webster and were effectively bowled out for 70. Francis finished an impressive game with figures of 1-13 from his four overs, while Chris Greaves (2-5), Kadeem Henry (2-20) and Demari Benta (2-17) all picked up two wickets each.
The win boosted the Crushers to third in the table on net run rate. But there are four teams all tied on 15 points, meaning that the final round of group matches will be crucial. Everything is still to play for here in Antigua as we reach the conclusion of the group stage tomorrow.
