TAROUBA, Trinidad – Johnson Charles and Sunil Ambris gathered half-centuries to help power Windward Islands Volcanoes to a decisive 97-run victory over winless Combined Colleges in Zone A of the Super50 Cup here late Wednesday.
Sent in at Brian Lara Stadium, Volcanoes racked up 277 all out in the final over, Charles top-scoring with 89 from 87 balls and Ambris belting 69 from 57 deliveries.
Justin Greaves weighed in with 46 from 53 balls at number six while Kavem Hodge struck a measured 34 from 55 deliveries higher up the order.
In reply, captain Denesh Ramdin propped up the run chase with an unbeaten 82 off 107 balls but he was only one of two batsmen to pass 20 – the other being number 10 Romario Greaves with 32 – as CCC crawled to 180 for nine off their 50 overs.
Hodge was the trump card with his left-arm spin, claiming four for 15 from his 10 overs while seamer Danel Cyrus (2-25) and another left-arm spinner Larry Edward (2-29) chipped in with two wickets apiece.
While Volcanoes broke a two-game losing skid with the result, the loss was CCC’s fourth in five outings leaving them bottom of the zone on two points.
Alick Athanaze, with back-to-back hundreds already in the tournament, continued his mini slump when he failed to score, caught at the wicket off by Ramdin off the fourth ball of the game from seamer Matthew Forde (3-33).
Two partnerships then got the innings firing. First, Charles put on 125 for the second wicket with Hodge, belting eight fours and five sixes to dominate the partnership.
When three wickets tumbled for 31 runs, Ambris took up the mantle, stroking three fours and three sixes in a 90-run, fifth-wicket stand with Greaves who counted two fours in his knock.
Hodge then ripped through the CCC top order, claiming four for the first eight wickets to fall, as CCC crashed to 62 for eight at the end of the 26th over.
Ramdin, who struck five fours and a six, added 68 for the ninth wicket with Greaves and a further 50 for the last wicket with Abhijai Mansingh (21 not out), but both partnerships proved in vain.
-CMC
