POINTE-A-PIERRE, Trinidad, (CMC) - Bad light and a thunderstorm forced a premature end to the opening round match of the Carib Beer 2004 Cricket Series between Trinidad and Tobago and the Leeward Islands that ended in a tame draw at Guaracara Park, yesterday.
Set 267 runs to win, Leewards were 58 for three in their second innings when the weather turned for the worse and brought a close to the match 25 overs early, after T&T, leading by 11 runs on first innings, were dismissed for 255 in their second innings.
Fast bowler Marlon Black along with spinners Davindra Krishna and Amit Jaggernauth shared the wickets for T&T.
Earlier, Trinidad & Tobago continued from their overnight position of 122 for four and batted through to the middle of the afternoon period.
Ricardo Powell and Tishan Maraj gradually put victory out of the reach of the visitors with a fighting fifth-wicket partnership of 75.
Powell, named in the West Indies team for the One-day International Series against South Africa, hit a patient 77. He batted for just over three hours, faced 136 balls and struck half-dozen fours. Maraj hit a useful 31.
The two batsmen were dismissed on the same score to leave T&T 192 for six as the Leewards fought for an outside chance of a result. But Gibran Mohammed scored 17 and Black made 19 in a stubborn eighth-wicket partnership of 36 to snuff out their slim hopes.
Kerry Jeremy with three wickets for 47 runs and Wilden Cornwall with three for 70 were the pick of the bowlers for the visitors.
Leewards were immediately set back when Black got rid of opener Alex Adams with the first ball of the innings as the Leewards went to tea at eight for one.
On the resumption, spinners Jaggernauth and Krishna joined the act by removing Sylvester Joseph and Shane Jeffers before the rains came.
Virgil Browne, the Leewards left-arm spin bowler, who ended with match figures of 10 for 223 was named man-of-the-match.
T&T will oppose West Indies-B in a second round fixture, starting on Friday at the National Cricket Centre in Couva, and Leewards tackle Kenya at the Ronald Webster Park in The Valley, Anguilla.
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO 1st innings 335
(S. Babwah 94; V. Browne 8-139)
LEEWARD ISLANDS 1st innings 324 (T. Willett 93; D. Bravo 6-70)
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO 2nd innings (o/n 122 for four)
I. Jan c (sub.) Powell b Cornwall 58
D. Bravo c Adams b Jeremy 4
A. Kanhai c wkpr J. Williams b Jeremy 9
R. Powell lbw b Jeremy 77
S. Babwah c wkpr J. Williams b Cornwall 5
T. Maraj c wkpr J. Williams b Cornwall 31
+G. Mohammed stp. J. Williams b Browne 17
R. Emrit lbw b Browne 7
M. Black c S. Williams b Weston 19
A. Jaggernauth c wkpr J. Williams b Weston 0
D. Krishna not out 0
Extras: (b-6, lb-8, w-2, nb-12) 28
Total: (all out) 255
Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-28, 3-107, 4-117, 5-192, 6-192, 7-205, 8-241, 9-254.