By Samuel Peters
Justin Greaves created history Sunday evening by becoming the first West Indian batsman to score three consecutive List A centuries when he produced a masterful unbeaten 151 to help the Leeward Islands successfully chased down their target against the titleholders Trinidad and Tobago in the Super 50 Overs Tournament in Trinidad at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy. The Leeward Islands reached their target of 292, finishing at 293 for three in 47.3 overs.
Greaves’ innings, which included 13 boundaries, was the cornerstone of the successful chase. He found excellent support from Mikyle Louis, who contributed a solid 57 runs (including 7 fours and 1 six), and Jahmar Hamilton, who also remained unbeaten on 25.
Earlier, Trinidad and Tobago had posted a competitive 291 for six in their allotted 50 overs. The innings was highlighted by several valuable contributions, with Amir Jangoo falling agonisingly short of a century with 96, while Jason Mohammed slammed an unbeaten 79 from 72 balls and Tion Webster cracked a 79 ball 60. The Trinidad and Tobago batting display showed good depth, though they might have hoped for an even larger total given their strong start.
The Leeward Islands’ bowling attack was led by Oshane Thomas with two for 54 but it was the spinners who strangled the Red Force’s free run scoring. Thirty-one overs was shared amongst Kofi James, Daniel Doram, Rahkeem Cornwall,and Karma Gore which cost 141 runs at just about 4.5 runs an over in the middle overs.
The successful chase demonstrated the Leeward Islands’ batting strength, with Greaves’ exceptional innings proving decisive. His ability to build partnerships and maintain a steady scoring rate throughout the innings was crucial to the victory.
It was the Hurricane’s second win in three matches after they lost on Friday to Barbados by three wickets in the final over. They will play the Guyana Harpy Eagles at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy with the match slated to bowl off at 1pm.
