Sports
Newsday Reporter
VIDIA RAMPHAL
Trinidad and Tobago’s men’s and women’s teams fell short of gold on December 7 at the Bolivarian Games T20 tournament at Lima Polo Club, Peru.
The men’s team came agonisingly close, falling 11 runs short to Barbados in a tense encounter, while the women’s team suffered a six-wicket loss, undone by Jamaica’s measured run-chase.
The men’s final was nail-biting from the start, with Barbados setting TT 138 for victory and the gold medal.
Opener Shian Brathwaite struck a crucial run-a-ball 55, including five fours and a six, to anchor the Barbados innings.
He combined with Tennyson Roach to form a damaging fourth-wicket partnership of 65 in just 55 balls, setting a challenging total for TT despite early breakthroughs from skipper Vikash Mohan and Mikkel Govia.
Mohan removed Roach for 42 off 33 balls, before Sharoon Lewis returned to dismiss Brathwaite for 55 to finally slow Barbados’ momentum.
Mohan and Teshawn Castro then took late wickets to restrict Barbados to 137 for eight.
For TT, the chase began cautiously.
The early overs saw Barbados’ Deswin Currency and Tariq O’Neale combine with telling effect to reduce TT to 47 for four in the ninth over.
A mid-innings counterattack from Dejourn Charles and Crystian Thurton provided a glimmer of hope.
The Tobago-born Charles played second-fiddle to the talented Thurton, before he fell for eight off 20 balls.
Thurton and the aggressive Castro joined up, but before they could get going, the former was bowled by Zion Brathwaite for 31 off 31 balls.
TT lost Jesse Bootan (one) shortly before Castro, and Damion Joachim made a final assault on the Barbados attack.
Needing 50 runs off the final 4.4 overs, Castro struck two massive sixes, while Joachim also cleared the rope to bring TT closer to victory.
However, with 12 needed off the last two balls, Castro was bowled by Shaquille Cberbatch for 22, ending TT’s hopes.
Joachim remained not out on 13 as TT had to settle for the silver medal.
In the women’s final, Chadean Nation produced a composed, unbeaten innings to lead Jamaica to gold in the Bolivarian Games women’s T20 final.
Batting first, TT struggled to put together partnerships and were restricted to 94 for eight from their 20 overs.
Veteran off-spinner Anisa Mohammed offered the most resistance, top scoring with a gritty 24 off 22 balls as Jamaica restricted TT to only seven boundaries.
The TT batting card featured a series of starts, but no batter was able to convert.
Jamaica were allowed to dictate the tempo through the early exchanges, and only Mohammed’s knock lifted TT to a respectable score.
Leading the way for Jamaica was Kate Wilmott, who earned impressive figures of three for 14, while veteran Chedean Nation delivered with two for 21.
Defending a modest total, TT began their quest for Bolivarian Games glory with their two most experienced bowlers – Mohammed and Karishma Ramharack.
Both were tidy and economical, and kept Jamaica from getting away to a fast start.
However, the experienced Nation and batting partner Chrishana McKenzie found momentum against the less-experienced TT bowlers.
The Jamaican openers wrested control with a stand of 47 off 8.5 overs, before Mohammed returned to dismiss McKenzie for 21.
Ramharack then bowled Abigail Bryce for one, and TT were gunning for more openings.
Nation showed her class, anchoring partnerships of 23 with Neisha Ann Waisome (12) and 13 with Lena Scott (four) to shepherd Jamaia towards victory.
They confirmed victory in the 18th over, when Wilmott struck a single straight down the ground to claim the Bolivarian Games women’s title.
Samara Ramnath ended with one for 13, while Mohammed (1/14) and Ramharack (1/15) also showed their class.
However, it was Nation’s 35 not out off 44 balls that earned her country the crown.
Cricket was featured at the Bolivarian Games for the first time in its 87-year history.
The sport is also set to debut at the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima, and then returns to the Summer Games at the 2028 Los Angeles – the first appearance at the Olympics since 1900.
