The Trinidad & Tobago Under-19 Women’s Team registered back-to-back victories against the Windward Islands this weekend as the Under-19 Tri-Nation Series bowled off at the National Cricket Centre in Couva. The series is organised by the Trinidad & Tobago Women’s Cricket Association and also includes the Barbados Under-19 Women’s Team.
In the first nail-biting encounter on Saturday, T&T’s captain Shalini Samaroo won the toss and elected to bowl first on an overcast morning. The Windward Islands captain, Zaida James, who debuted at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in January, opened with Denella Creese at the other end. The pair found trouble scoring as T&T’s opening bowlers KDJazz Mitchell and Ameila Khan extracted some early outswing. James and Creese managed to put on only 14 runs within the first 7 overs of the Powerplay before James fell for 9 runs to Mitchell. Creese managed to add only 2 more to the score, departing for 4 as Djenaba Joseph took a brilliant catch off Khan to dismiss the opener.
Jennillea Glasgow then joined Namiah Marcellin at the crease and together the pair frustrated T&T as they took advantage of some wayward bowling and errors in the field. Glasgow blasted 5 fours and hit the only six of the match, putting on a partnership of over 50 runs with Marcellin.
However, the Windward Islands would lose two quick wickets as they lost Marcellin to Samara Ramnath – who also accounted for the wicket of Niesha Cherry in her next over. Glasgow however, soldiered on and brought up her fifty shortly thereafter. Earnisha Fontaine was next to go as Samaroo caught her at mid-wicket off Joseph. Joseph then bowled Glasgow to take the main run-scorer out of the game for 54. Nesha Alexander and Abinie St. Jean were at the crease when the rain came and curtailed the Windwards Islands’ innings at 25.5 overs, with the score at 120 for the loss of 6 wickets.
Set a revised target of 130 to win from 25 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis system, Trinidad & Tobago opened the innings with vice-captain Shunelle Sawh and all-rounder Samara Ramnath. Glasgow, who also featured for the West Indies senior team earlier this year, kept the openers quiet as they could only manage to score at around 3 runs per over. Ramnath was the first to go – run out attempting a single in the 7th over.
This brought experienced campaigner Djenaba Joseph to the crease with Sawh. However, Joseph could only add 11 as skipper James trapped her LBW bringing the T&T captain to the crease. Samaroo then injected some much needed impetus into the locals’ innings as she led from the front and quickly racked up 30 runs from 26 balls, spanking 6 fours all around the ground in the process. She and Sawh put on the highest partnership of the innings (51) which saw the T&T women go ahead of the required run rate.
However, Samaroo’s departure to Glasgow started a slide which would have had fans on the edge of their seats. Needing a comfortable 35 runs off 51 balls, Maria La Foucade departed for a first ball duck off Glasgow, and Kirah Manpaul departed shortly after LBW to James. Vice-captain Sawh attempted to achieve the target quickly but was caught behind off Destiny Edwards. Sawh top-scored with 36 runs, scoring 3 fours on the way. The dot balls then began to increase and with 6 wickets down, the required run rate came down to almost a run a ball. However, the composure of Aniaya Roberts and KDJazz Mitchell ensured that T&T would stay slightly ahead as the pair arrested the slide – stroking 20 runs, and putting victory within easy grasp of the home team.
Two in Two
T&T’s second victory was quite the opposite of their opening performance as they steamrolled the Windward Islands on Sunday. The Windward Islands captain, James, won the toss and elected to bat. KDJazz Mitchell was in a destructive mood and wasted no time as she accounted for both openers -Marcellin and James for 6 and 8 respectively in a miserly opening spell. Jennillea Glasgow, the opponent’s hero from Match 1, entered and attempted to rebuild the innings with Cherry.
The pair put on 37 runs for the third wicket but Glasgow would soon perish LBW to Samara Ramnath for a run-a-ball 26. Djenaba Joseph then took two quick wickets for no run as she bowled Cherry for 8 runs and trapped Creese LBW for a duck. Nesha Alexander put up some resistance for the visitors as she plundered 5 fours on her way to top-score with 39 runs, but Ameila Khan soon bowled her and ended her stay at the crease. T&T then made light work of the lower-order as the Windward Islands could only manage 122 for 9 at the end of their allotted 30 overs.
Shunelle Sawh and Ramnath opened the innings for the locals, but Sawh would not repeat her heroics from the day before as she was adjudged LBW to Glasgow for 4 runs. Joseph joined Ramnath at the crease and the pair put on 57 runs for the second wicket before Ramnath was caught for 30 as she attempted an expansive drive down the ground off the bowling of Cherry. Captain Samaroo then joined Joseph at the crease with the target well within sight. Joseph increased the tempo smashing 3 boundaries and registered the first half-century for the locals for the series, as T&T romped home without any further damage in just 18 overs.
The T&T Women play Windward Islands for the last time on Tuesday 4 April at 10:00 am before meeting the Barbados Under-19 Women on Friday 7 April.
MATCH 1: Saturday 1 April, 2023
WINDWARD ISLANDS UNDER-19 WOMEN 120/6 (25.5 Overs)
Jennillea Glasgow 54 (64)
Nesha Alexander 14 (11)
Namiah Marcellin 14 (19)
Samara Ramnath 2/28 (5 Overs)
Djenaba Joseph 2/16 (2.5 Overs)
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO UNDER-19 WOMEN 130/7 (24.4 Overs)
Shunelle Sawh 36 (54)
Shalini Samaroo 30 (26)
Aniaya Roberts 12 (19)
Jennillea Glasgow 2/8 (5 Overs)
Zaida James 2/25 (5 Overs)
Trinidad & Tobago Under-19 Women won by 3 wickets.
MATCH 2: Saturday 2 April, 2023
WINDWARD ISLANDS UNDER-19 WOMEN 122/9 (30 Overs)
Nesha Alexander 39 (40)
Jennillea Glasgow 26 (26)
KDJazz Mitchell 2/12 (6 Overs)
Djenaba Joseph 2/22 (6 Overs)
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO UNDER-19 WOMEN 123/2 (18 Overs)
Djenaba Joseph 52 (51)
Samara Ramnath 30 (31)
Shalini Samaroo 23 (27)
Naisha Cherry 1/30 (6 Overs)
Jennillea Glasgow 1/33 (4 Overs)
Trinidad & Tobago Under-19 Women won by 8 wickets.
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO UNDER-19 WOMEN
Shalini Samaroo (captain, UWI Women’s Cricket Club), Shunelle Sawh (vice-captain, Achievers), Brianna Harricharan (Achievers), Djenaba Joseph (Achievers), KD Jazz Mitchell (Achievers), Samara Ramnath (Achievers), Aniaya Roberts (Achievers), Kirah Manpaul (Achievers), Jessica O’Rosco (Achievers), Zakiyah Harrilal (Hibiscus), Amala Durgadeen (Naparima Girls’), Maria La Foucade (Phoenix), Abigail Boodoo (Phoenix), Ameila Khan (UWI Women’s Cricket Club), Denella Matthew (unattached).
