BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CMC):
DEFENDING WOMEN’s Super50 Cup champions Jamaica were knocked off their perch, losing to Guyana by eight wickets in their second game of the tournament at St Paul’s Sports Complex in St Kitts yesterday.
The result means Barbados Women are the only unbeaten team left in the tournament after they knocked off the Windward Islands Women by 56 runs at Warner Park.
Trinidad and Tobago Women bounced back from their defeat to Jamaica, beating the Leeward Islands Women by four wickets at Conaree Sports Club.
At St Paul’s Sports Complex, Jamaica needed a strong showing by their middle order to get up to their eventual total of 175 from 47.4 overs.
Chedean Nation, who top scored with 32 and Jodian Morgan, who made 23, had seemed to have guided Jamaica out of a perilous situation after off-spinner Plafianna Millington removed openers Rashada Williams and Crishana McKenzie cheaply to leave them 21 for two.
But from a relatively comfortable position of 57 for two, Jamaica found themselves 84 for five in the 27th over.
It took the efforts of Neisha-Ann Waisome, who made 29, Lena Scott (22) and number nine Vanessa Watts, who made 20, to get them up to a decent total.
Millington was the pick of Guyana’s bowlers with 3-16, while Shabika Gajnabi took 2-27.
Guyana Women then made light work of their target, with Realeanna Grimmond and Mandy Mangru scoring half-centuries as they breezed to 178 for two in 47.1 overs.
Grimmond scored an unbeaten 72 from 131 balls and Mangru struck 60 from 114 balls, with the pair adding 109 runs for the second wicket.
When Mangru lost her wicket, Grimmond and captain Shemaine Campbelle, who scored an unbeaten 23, took their team over the line.
At Warner Park, twin sisters, Kycia and Kyshona Knight, scored half-centuries before spinner Naijanni Cumberbatch grabbed three wickets to lead Barbados Women to their second victory.
Kycia scored 63 from 91 balls, and Kyshona notched her second straight half-century with 51 from 99 balls, and their 115-run partnership for the third wicket proved to be the backbone of Barbados’ total of 181 from 43.3 overs.
The pair came together with their team in trouble at nine for two following the cheap dismissals of Asabi Callender for a first-ball duck and Trishan Holder for just one.
Barbados would have been hoping for a bigger total after the duo carried the score to 124 for two, but the Windwards fought back to claim eight wickets for the addition of just 57.
Pearl Etienne (2-22), Jannillea Glasgow (2-24), Zaida James (2-30), and Afy Fletcher (2-37) all took two wickets.
The Windward Islands got a decent start in their run chase and were coasting along at 56 for one at one stage thanks to opener Ashlene Edward’s knock of 31.
However, skipper Aaliyah Alleyne captured two wickets in quick succession to orchestrate a collapse that saw the Windward Islands slump to 103 for seven, a position they would not recover from.
Callender finished with 3-20, and Alleyne (2-13) and Keila Elliot (2-14) gave good support.
In the day’s closest finish, Trinidad and Tobago Women registered their first win of the tournament, bouncing back from the Leeward Islands strong start to dismiss them for just 188 in 45.3 overs.
Reniece Boyce led the way for the Leewards with 76, while Shawnisha Hector’s 35 and Divya Saxena, who scored 32, put them in a position of authority at 160 for four.
But pacer Amrita Ramtahal (4-27) and spinner Anisa Mohammed (3-26) led a brilliant fightback by T&T to capture the last six wickets for the addition of just 28, with the last four wickets falling for a mere two runs.
T&T Women got off to a shaky start, losing openers Djenaba Joseph and Shunelle Sawh with a score of 10.
They were rescued, though, by Britney Cooper, who made 72, and Mohammed, who scored 32, with the pair adding 89 runs for the third wicket.
Following the dismissals of Mohammed and Karishma Ramharack, Cooper shared a crucial 44-run partnership with Lee-Ann Kirby, whose unbeaten 41 from 37 balls, helped carry her team to victory.