Coolidge, Antigua – 25 October 2008 – The Stanford Superstars warmed up for their US$20 million showdown against England with a hard-fought victory by 22 runs over Trinidad and Tobago at the Stanford Cricket Ground on Saturday night.
Without being spectacular, the Stanford Superstars, minus key batsmen Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, were efficient in winning the first match of the Stanford Super Series before an encouraging crowd.
Stand-in captain Sylvester Joseph provided a flurry at the end with an unbeaten 45 off 31 balls to guide his team to a competitive 146 for five and tall left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn stopped a promising Trinidad and Tobago response to help limit the opponents to 124 for eight.
“We had our plans. We lost a few wickets too early. In the end, we got up to a decent total that we knew we could defend,” Joseph said.
Despite useful contributions from openers Travis Dowlin (35) and Andre Fletcher (25), the Stanford Superstars were pegged back in the first ten overs and were 50 for two at the half-way stage.
With pacer Ravi Rampaul bowling with plenty of purpose and leg-spinner Samuel Badree claiming a double-strike in the eighth over, the Stanford Superstars were never able to score freely until the last five overs when they blasted 53.
Joseph received support from big-hitter Kieron Pollard who lashed 24 off 14 balls and benefitted from one of three chances Trinidad and Tobago spilled.
Trinidad and Tobago, the reigning Stanford 20/20 champions, scored 34 off the first five overs, but slipped a notch when Benn was introduced into the attack.
Benn struck with the third ball by removing the dangerous William Perkins for a run-a-ball 16 and went on to bowl four mean overs that cost 15 and included another wicket.
After captain Daren Ganga was dismissed for 13 in the tenth over, Trinidad and Tobago were given a fighting chance of victory with a fourth wicket partnership of 42 between debutants Justin Guillen (31) and Navin Stewart (26).
A clatter of wickets in the last five overs, however, ended their chances.
“We competed throughout the game. We slipped a little bit in the field. I was thinking about a total of 120, 130 given the start that we had,” Ganga said.
“Unfortunately we dropped a few matches, but be that as it may, if you told me we were going to be chasing 147 against the Superstars, I’d take that any day.”
SCORES:
Stanford Superstars 146-5 in 20 overs (Sylvester Joseph 45 not out, Travis Dowlin 25, Kieron Pollard 24; Samuel Badree 4-0-20-2, Navin Stewart 4-0-33-2). Trinidad and Tobago 124-8 in 20 overs (Justin Guillen 31, Navin Stewart 26; Sulieman Benn 2-15, Jerome Taylor 2-24). Stanford Superstars won by 22 runs..
