News

Superstars shine with opening win

26/10/08

COOLIDGE, Antigua -- The Stanford Superstars put in a solid performance on Saturday night – beating Trinidad and Tobago by 22 runs -- as they prepare for the US$20 million match against England next weekend.

Led by Sylvester Joseph in the absence of Chris Gayle, the Superstars made a late charge to reach 146 for 5 wickets off 20 overs and then restricted Trinidad and Tobago to 124 for 8 wickets in 20 overs.

Batting was not easy and there was no six-hitting jamboree as the large crowd was expecting, but skipper Joseph led the way with a cool knock of 45 not out off 31 balls with two fours and two sixes.

“The pitch wasn’t the best and 140-150 was a challenging total,” Joseph said. “I thought we lost a few wickets too early, but we knew Trinidad would come at us hard. They were competitive tonight and though they fell short, overall the game was a good one. We did not quite get it right in all the areas, so we know what we have to do when we face England.”

Keiron Pollard – big, tall and strong -- opened his broad shoulders to clout 24 from just 14 balls to provide some fireworks near the finish. This came after openers Andre Fletcher (25) and Travis Dowlin (35) had provided a solid start.

Pollard smashed a stunning six off debutant Navin Stewart which disappeared into the night sky and landed in the swimming pool behind the mid-wicket boundary. Next ball Stewart got revenge when he castled Pollard, who was eyeing another maximum hit. Later in same over Stewart again proved he had the golden arm knocking over the stumps of Linden James with another accurate full-length delivery.

In the Trinidad and Tobago innings, Stewart showcased his batting talents with a breezy 26, while left-hander Justin Guillen, another first-timer showed class with a polished 31. Let-arm spinner Sulieman Benn was accurate and tidy in the middle overs which stifled the Trinidad and Tobago batsmen, while fast bowler Jerome Taylor was pacy and lethal.

The next match is England vs Middlesex on Sunday at 5:30 pm (Eastern Caribbean Time).

Match summary: Stanford Superstars 146 for 5 off 20 overs (Sylvester Joseph 45 not out, Travis Dowlin 35, Andre Fletcher 25, Keiron Pollard 24; Samuel Badree 4-0-2—2, Navin Stewart 4-0-33-2) Trinidad and Tobago 124 for 8 off 20 overs (Justin Guillen 31, Navin Stewart 26; Sulieman Benn 4-0-15-2, Jerome Taylor 4-0-24-2). Stanford Superstars won by 22 runs.