Lendl Simmons hit an unbeaten half-century to power Central Sports to a nine-wicket victory in the opening match of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) T20 Festival at the National Cricket Center in Balmain Couva.
Simmons hit 60 not out from 28 balls as Central Sports chased down 89 for victory against Victoria Sports.
Daniel Williams hit 28 off 15 balls before being dismissed by Vishal Roopnarine.
Earlier, Rayad Emrit took three wickets while Christopher Ramsarran and Anderson Mahase also took two scalps each as Victoria Sports were bowled out for 88 in 18.1 overs.
Simmons was duly named Man of the Match and told LoopTT Sports it was a great start for his team in the TTCB T20 Festival.
“Our next game is against Clarke Road and I think they have good bowling. You can’t take anything for granted in T20 cricket. It’s about what happens on the day and you have to take the weather into account. So you have to to win. games ahead,” Simmons said.
Central Sports lost to QPCC in the finals of the TTCB 50-over tournament and Simmons believes his team can reach the finals of the T20 tournament.
“Without a doubt, I think we can get to the T20 final. We have a lot of good youngsters in our team, guys who have played for the West Indies U19s, guys who have played for Trinidad and Tobago. We have a lot of experience in our team and I think we’re going to rely on the youth and experience combined together to get us over the line,” Simmons said.
Central Sports take on Clarke Road on Saturday at 11am, while Victoria Sports take on Alesco Comets in the second leg at 3pm.
