North U15 skipper Maleek Lewis smashed a stunning 121 from 119 balls to lead North to the semi-finals of the Scotiabank NextGen U15 tournament.
North U15 went into their final group game against Tobago U15 knowing that a win will be enough to send them through to the semis. Tobago, who was winless in the competition so far despite some spirited performances, was asked to bowl first on a hard wicket at St. Mary’s Ground, St. Clair.
North got off to a decent start with openers Varisht Ramdeen (14) and Ismaeel Mohammed (7) getting their team to 32 without loss. However, after some good bowling and wicket keeping, both openers went via the stumped route to trigger a small batting collapse. North under pressure at 69/5 after 19 overs.
At the crease, though, was North skipper Maleek Lewis, who needed to dig deep to get his team out of trouble and wicket-keeper batter Rizwaan Mohammed. The two were able to play positively with Lewis doing most of the scoring and Mohammed giving patient support. Together they rebuilt the North innings, putting on 92 for the sixth wicket.
Lewis was in impressive form, dominating the Tobago bowlers with shots all around the ground, eventually getting to 121 (119) smashing 17 fours and 1 six during his innings. Shiva Sampath 21 not out also played an important part in getting North to 244/7 in 46 overs.
Sameer Khan 2/29 and Ashmeer Jumadeen 2/38 were the best bowlers for Tobago.
In reply, Tobago got off to a poor start as pacer Dominic Redhead and spinner Varisht Ramdeen continue to excel in the tournament with the ball, leaving Tobago 3 wickets down with just one run on the board in the second over.
Ramdeen eventually got 3/15 and Redhead 2/9. Lewis, not satisfied with only making runs, returned with the ball to pick up 2/27. Mikaeel Ali also joined the action, bowling some tricky spin, picking up 2/34 in 9 overs.
Only Tomas Persad (15) and Zion James (13) reached double figures, as North rooted Tobago for 89.
Despite the loss, the team from the sister isle played the game with great spirit and sportsmanship that stemmed down from their coach Brian Browne.
It was North’s and Lewis’ day, however, as they comfortably booked their place in the semi-finals against South-East on Tuesday 22 March, to be played at the Preysal Recreation Ground, Couva, starting 9:30 am.
