North Zone Academy women’s team thumped Moses Lendore Cricket Academy (MLCA) by six wickets to take their second win of the 2025 Trinidad and Tobago Women’s Cricket Association (TTWCA) Championship Division.
At Exchange Ground in Couva on Sunday, North Zone restricted MLCA to 85 for 6 in 15 overs before romping to victory with 27 balls to spare.
Tejal Ramsewak’s three-wicket haul and a half-century stand between Sarah Sahadath and Naomi Ali squeezed the chase and put North Zone in the winners’ row.
However, the management units of both teams would not look fondly on extras accounting for 64 percent of the 174 runs scored in 25.3 overs of play.
“We were very happy for the win. We are not so happy about the number of wides bowled. My observation was the fielding was very much improved,” team manager Indra Ramsingh-Geffroy told northzonecricket.com.
North Zone skipper Jessica Davis did not regret her decision to insert MLCA after guessing right at the toss in Couva.
Within the first seven overs, North Zone inflicted four heavy body blows to take control of the contest.
Davis opted for Aishani Ramsewak to open the bowling and she did not disappoint, delivering the first wicket with her ninth ball.
However, Aishani’s sister Tejal, bowling third change, proved to be the game-changer for North Zone.
In the pivotal seventh over, Tejal trapped Veena Anandee (2) in front with the first ball of the over, before rattling the stumps with her fourth (Makeba Buntin, 3) and sixth (Freeda La Rosa, 1) deliveries.
The extras figures had already commenced their uncomfortable rise, with Ali delivering five wides and three no-balls in her only over.
Despite the top-order back in the hutch, MLCA’s Anena Nesbitt and Shania Farrell stitched together 23 runs for the fifth wicket to take the score to 57 for 4.
Nesbitt departed LBW to Aishani Ramsewak for a top score of 13, before Farrell and Aishianna Ramroop put together a further 28 for the sixth wicket.
Farrel contributed 5 in the partnership as the extras figure raced towards the half-century mark.
Davis, however, restored some discipline to the bowling unit, delivering only three wides in her three overs with the wicket of Farrel to show for it.
MLCA’s innings ended at 85 for 6 in the 15 overs available.
North Zone contributed 56 extras with 46 wides and nine no-balls to MLCA’s cause.
Needing to score at 5.67 an over to win the match, North Zone started inauspiciously with bowling hero Tejal Ramsewak falling off the first legal delivery from Buntin.
Buntin, who had seen her stumps spreadeagled by Ramsewak, returned the favor with interest.
However, success would elude the MLCA bowlers for the next 37 balls as North Zone rallied to 53 for 1.
Sarah Sahadath and Ali resisted, scoring 10 and 7 respectively, as the MLCA bowlers failed to find a consistent line.
The North Zone pair added a damaging 52 runs for the second wicket before Sahadath departed for a patient 10 off 27 balls.
Ali was no less circumspect in her 27-ball knock as she continued to push North Zone towards victory with another critical 23-run stand from only 15 balls with Seriah Kawalsingh.
Ali departed for 7 while Kawalsingh fell four balls later for 9 before Davis (6 not out) and Charlotte Mack (2 not out) brought victory up off the third ball of the 11th over.
Skipper Davis spanked the ball to the boundary with the scores tied to bring up the North Zone Academy’s second win in three matches.
MLCA produced 55 extras with 42 wides and nine no-balls.
The victory was the ideal tonic for the North Zone team after a six-wicket loss to Brenda Solozano Cricket Academy (BSCA) last Sunday.
In other results, Sital Youngstars beat Cricket Lovers by 67 runs, and Victoria CC whipped BSCA by 78 runs.
North Zone is back in action on 2 February against table-toppers Victoria CC.
BSCA takes on Sital Youngstars, and Cricket Lovers host MLCA.
“Victoria CC is the team at the top of the table. I have observed some of their stats and it seems as if they are a team to watch. They are experienced and we are going to look at how we will strategize to do our best against them,” Ramsingh-Geffroy said.
The North Zone-Victoria CC clash is on Sunday from noon at the Brian Lara Recreation Ground in Santa Cruz.
Summarized scores: Moses Lendore Cricket Academy 85 for 6 in 15.0 overs (Abena Nesbitt 13; Tejal Ramsewak 3/17, Aishani Ramsewak 2/14, Jessica Davis 1/7) vs North Zone Academy 84 for 4 in 10.3 overs (Sarah Sahadath 10, Seraiah Kawalsingh 9, Naomi Ali 7; Shania Farrell 1/5, Makeba Buntin 1/13, Lauralee Basdeo 1/15). North Zone won by six wickets.
