ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) yesterday congratulated Trinidad and Tobago for their strong runner-up finish at the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 tournament in India.
T&T lost yesterday’s final by 41 runs to New South Wales, of Australia, at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad but won the hearts of many observers during the event after chalking up an impressive five-game winning streak.
“The WICB would like to congratulate the players, the management and the administrators for what was a first-class display on the international stage,” WICB president Julian Hunte said in a press statement.
“The Trinidad and Tobago team played some very good cricket during the tournament and caught the attention of everyone. They have every reason to feel very proud,” Hunte added.
Entering the tournament as huge underdogs, T&T surprised the opposition and reeled off wins over reigning Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Deccan Chargers and England’s Somerset in the group phase.
They went on to defeat NSW, the eventual champions, and the Eagles (South Africa) in the Super 8 round and defeated South Africa’s Cape Cobras in Thursday’s semi-final.
In yesterday’s final, Trinidad and Tobago were bowled out for 118 all out in 15.5 overs replying to NSW’s 159 for nine off 20 overs.
It was their first loss in the entire tournament and Hunte believes they lost no marks in defeat.
“The Champions League will be remembered for what Trinidad and Tobago brought to it. They brought life, energy and spirit to the tournament and everyone involved should feel like a winner,” Hunte said.
“Throughout the event we saw many players stepping up with brilliant individual performances, but the overall team effort was wonderful to see,” Hunte said.
NSW took the winners’ purse of US$2.3 million and T&T secured US$1.3 million as runners-up.
