Coolness, calmness and calculatedness at the crease and clever captaincy were critical for Kraigg Brathwaite in Barbados Pride’s 13-run Duckworth-Lewis victory over English county Kent Spitfires in Wednesday’s day-night semi-final.
Brathwaite not only led from the front with an unbeaten 105 off 136 balls in his team’s total of 263 for three but returned to take one for 37 in ten tidy overs of off-spin as Kent were restricted o 216 for eight, chasing a second revised target of 229 in 43 overs.
The upshot was that defending champions Barbados Pride secured a spot in tomorrow’s final of the Regional Super50 Festival at Coolidge Cricket Ground with Trotman praising Brathwaite for his leadership.
“The beauty about the whole day’s play is the way the captain managed the whole situation. He batted well and he captained well. He led from the front, a true leader,” Trotman told WEEKENDSPORT in an interview after the match.
Trotman said he was happy to see Brathwaite returning to form and getting a third List A century.
“That set us up nicely and with Omar Phillips, gave us a good foundation. Roston Chase chipped in nicely as usual. He has been very consistent.”
Trotman acknowledged the role the senior batsmen at the top of the order with Chase pushing his aggregate to a tournament-high 514 runs after his sparkling knock of 81 off 73 balls was decorated with nine fours and two sixes.
“I’ve asked two of the first four to perform well and they have done that so I am quite proud of the way that the senior boys have led the youngsters through the semi-final,” he said.
Always confident
The former Barbados batsman said he was always confident the new-look Pride side, despite missing ten first-choice players, would beat a professional side like Kent.
“I was always confident that we can do it but these English teams, they know how to play One-Day cricket and they always play it very well. but I backed my boys to beat them. We had a plan set. The guys stuck to the plan and executed very well, so I am very happy with the ending,” he said.
Brathwaite, who was without a half-century in the eight group matches, managing only 159 runs at an average of 19.87 and a pedestrian strike rate of 51.96, was happy to contribute to the team’s success.
“For me, I know my role is to let the guys bat around me. I didn’t get bogged down too much and I then decided I would go right through – which I did, and I think that was very beneficial for the team.”
Vital stand
He said the opening stand of 93 in 21.3 overs with Phillips, who hit ten fours in an attacking 62 off 70 balls, was vital in setting up the innings.
“I think that was key. I was trying my best to give him the single and he was finding the boundary quite easily, which was good for us. Obviously, that put us in a good position for the guys coming down the order to press on.
“We had a good start in terms of getting 260 on a difficult pitch. I thought that was a very competitive total, and the bowlers stuck to the task. We were a little sloppy in the field but I thought the energy was good throughout and the bowlers did a good job.” (EZS)
