Spin, rain and last-ball drama shape Rising Stars opening day
Key Points(5)
- Trinidad and Tobago Women made an emphatic opening statement in the CWI Women’s Rising Stars Under-19 Championship on Saturday, while the Leeward Islands Women endured a far more nerve-racking route to victory as the tournament opened across Antigua.
- T&T dismantled Jamaica for just 39 before racing to 42 for two in 7.2 overs at Bethesda Sports Ground, securing an eight-wicket victory that was built almost entirely around a devastating display from their spinners.
- At Liberta Sports Club, meanwhile, the Leeward Islands survived a tense rain-affected encounter with the Windward Islands, edging home by a single run under the Duckworth/Lewis/Stern method after the match was abandoned with the Windwards on 50 for two after nine overs.
- The two results provided dramatically different openings to the competition, but both winners demonstrated an ability to capitalize when the pressure intensified.
- Ramnath tears through Jamaica’s top order Jamaica's innings never had time to settle.
Trinidad and Tobago Women made an emphatic opening statement in the CWI Women’s Rising Stars Under-19 Championship on Saturday, while the Leeward Islands Women endured a far more nerve-racking route to victory as the tournament opened across Antigua.
T&T dismantled Jamaica for just 39 before racing to 42 for two in 7.2 overs at Bethesda Sports Ground, securing an eight-wicket victory that was built almost entirely around a devastating display from their spinners.
At Liberta Sports Club, meanwhile, the Leeward Islands survived a tense rain-affected encounter with the Windward Islands, edging home by a single run under the Duckworth/Lewis/Stern method after the match was abandoned with the Windwards on 50 for two after nine overs.
The two results provided dramatically different openings to the competition, but both winners demonstrated an ability to capitalize when the pressure intensified.
Ramnath tears through Jamaica’s top order
Jamaica's innings never had time to settle.
Samara Ramnath and Brianna Harricharan combined for seven wickets, reducing the Jamaicans to a total that offered virtually no resistance.
Ramnath was the chief destroyer, claiming 4-8 as she repeatedly found ways through Jamaica's top order.
Jamaica lost Sashane Ricketts for a duck with only two runs on the board, but Teandra Morgan and Shamara Hall briefly appeared to have stabilized the innings.
Morgan, who would finish as Jamaica’s only batter in double figures with 14, helped move the score to 24 for one.
That recovery proved fleeting.
Hall was stumped off Ramnath, triggering a spectacular collapse. Jamaica then lost six wickets for just 13 runs, tumbling from 24 for one to 37 for seven.
The innings was effectively over.
Harricharan finishes the job
Harricharan then delivered the decisive burst.
In her first over, she removed Brianna Plummer and Neveah Webley on consecutive deliveries without conceding a run.
Three balls later, Davehjah Brown became her third victim, completing a remarkable sequence in which Harricharan claimed three wickets in five balls.
Jamaica was bowled out for 39 in only 11.5 overs.
With such a small target, T&T needed little more than a routine chase.
They reached 42 for two in 7.2 overs to complete the eight-wicket victory, with Harricharan completing an outstanding all-round contribution by remaining unbeaten on 14.
For T&T, it was a performance that combined accuracy with ruthless execution. For Jamaica, the opening-day defeat was defined by a middle-order collapse from which there was no recovery.
Leewards escape after Windwards' bowling errors
The contest at Liberta Sports Club was considerably closer, but the Windward Islands will have been left to rue their own indiscipline.
Zara Skerritt led the Leeward Islands' batting effort with 36, while Aaliyah Weekes added 14 as the Leewards posted 118 for eight from their allotted 20 overs.
Much of that total was effectively gifted.
The Windwards conceded a staggering 41 extras, including 22 wides and 15 no-balls, undermining what might otherwise have been a competitive bowling performance.
Jaeda Tyrell stood apart from that lack of control, finishing with 3-21.
Tyrell takes charge before rain intervenes
The Windward Islands appeared to be navigating the chase comfortably.
After nine overs, they had reached 50 for two, with Tyrell providing the foundation for what looked increasingly like a successful pursuit.
Tyrell was unbeaten on 31 from 39 balls and appeared capable of guiding the Windwards through the remaining overs.
Then the weather intervened.
Persistent showers brought the contest to an early conclusion, leaving officials to determine the result through the Duckworth/Lewis/Stern method.
The calculation left the Leeward Islands ahead by the narrowest possible margin.
One run.
The result was particularly cruel for the Windwards because Tyrell had done almost everything required to put her team in position to win.
Yet the final twist came with captain Kaela George being run out off the last ball, a moment that ultimately swung the contest in favor of the Leeward Islands.
Two winners, two very different statements
The opening day produced a study in contrasts.
T&T left little doubt about their strength, using relentless spin to bowl Jamaica out for 39 before completing an emphatic eight-wicket victory.
The Leeward Islands, by comparison, were pushed to the brink by the Windwards and needed both the weather and the DLS calculation to work in their favor.
But both emerged with victories, and valuable early momentum in a championship that has already shown how quickly fortunes can change.
For T&T, the message was unmistakable: their bowling attack can be devastating.
For the Leewards, the lesson was perhaps more complicated but equally valuable: in a tournament where margins are thin, staying alive until the final delivery can be enough to secure the points.
