Damp squib!

- Trinidad maul Guyana in Caribbean T20 showdown

With two close finishes in their previous matches both of which they won last night?s Caribbean T20 showdown between Guyana and hosts Trinidad at the Queen?s Park Oval was expected to be a firecracker but turned out to be a damp squib after a lacklustre performance from the Guyanese.

The  architects of Trinidad?s victory were left hander Darren Bravo, who continued his fine form in the  T20 tournament by blasting an unbeaten 82 and roving T20 player Keiron Pollard, fresh from his Big Bash sojourn who weighed in with 44 not out as Trinidad defeated Guyana by  the whopping margin of 80  runs.

Guyana skipper Veerasammy Permaul won the toss and sent the Trinidadians in who replied by posting the highest total of the competition to date 191-4.

Guyana,  who ended on 111 – 6, looked to have vindicated the decision to field first after the grabbed two early wickets to leave Trinidad 26-2 after five overs.

Opener Lendl Simmons was out to a stunning catch by  wicketkeeper Derwin Christian as he got an inside edge to a delivery from  Chris Barnwell with the score on 11 while the other opener William Perkins, tried to cut a delivery from off spinner Royston Crandon and was bowled off stump for eight.

By this time Darren Bravo was beginning to find his range punishing bad deliveries from Crandon and Permaul while Dwayne Bravo got into the action by hitting Bishoo for four.

Trinidad was to lose two more wickets that of Dwayne Bravo and skipper Denish Ramdin for 19 and 20 respectively.

Dwayne Bravo was caught by Steven Jacobs off Narsingh Deonarine after striking two boundaries in his run-a-ball 19 while Ramdin was caught by Deonarine off Barnwell after hitting a solitary six in his 15 ball knock.

But, thereafter, Pollard and Darren Bravo combined to bat the Guyanese out of the game. Pollard blasted five sixes and one four from only 17 balls while Darren Bravo’s knock came off 51 balls and included eight fours and four sixes.

Barnwell with 2-29 from his four overs was the pick of the Guyana bowlers while there was a wicket each for Crandon, 1-19 from two overs and Deonarine who ended with 1-41 from four overs.

Off spinner and man of the match against Barbados Jacobs was expensive his four overs costing 40 runs while leg spinner Devendra Bishoo?s four overs cost 33 runs and Permaul sent down two overs for 25 runs.

In reply Guyana lost opener Trevon Griffit for one with only seven runs on the board and Christian sent in as a pinch hitter made heavy weather of the role falling for nine from 13 balls.

Former captain Ramnaresh Sarwan’s poor run with the bat continued as he fell for one bowled by Reyad Emrit and it was left to Mr Dependable Shivnarine Chanderpaul to lend the score some respectability. Chanderpaul’s fighting knock of 53 came off only 50 balls and he struck eight boundaries.

Deonarine made 14 before he was run out while Jonathn Foo and Crandon added 23 runs for the seventh wicket. Crandon was not out on 11 and Foo unbeaten on 10.

Emrit was the pick of the Trinidad bowlers with 2-19 while there was a wicket each for Shannon Gabriel (1-17) Sunil Narine (1-13) and Kevon Cooper (1-12).