T&T end 20-year drought for Regional 4-Day title with 141-run win over Guyana
Red Force 260 & 267 (Lewis 122, Jangoo 48; Permaul 4-14) beat Harpy Eagles 247 & 139 (Anderson 41, Savory 24; Hinds 3-20) by 141 runs
The Trinidad and Tobago Red Force have returned to the summit of regional red-ball cricket for the first time since 2006, dethroning three-time defending champions Guyana Harpy Eagles in the final of the West Indies Championship on Wednesday.
Four captivating days of cricket culminated in the Red Force seamers dismantling the Harpy Eagles to earn an authoritative 141-run victory at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua and Barbuda.
With three full sessions available to get 280 runs on a pitch showing minimal deterioration, the Harpy Eagles would have fancied their chances of claiming a fourth successive title. To do so, however, they needed to see off the very obvious new-ball threat that is Jayden Seales.
A challenge they failed, as the West Indies pacer helped peg them back with the early wickets of Matthew Nandu (0) and Tevin Imlach (16), on either side of the fall of Tagenarine Chanderpaul, who was bowled by Anderson Phillip for one to leave Guyana 32 for three.
A 31-run fourth-wicket stand between Kevlon Anderson and Kemol Savory briefly threatened to bring Guyana back into the contest before Phillip (2/63) removed the latter for 24.
Joshua James (2/12) then joined in the act, accounting for Jonathan van Lange (10) and Keemo Paul (14), leaving Guyana stuttering at 103 for six at lunch.
Seales (3/39) returned to claim the all-important scalp of a stubborn Anderson (41) after the interval, putting T&T on the brink.
It was left up to Terrance Hinds (3/20) to secure the win. He claimed three lower-order wickets, including scripting the winning moment by bowling Nial Smith through the gate for a duck as the Harpy Eagles were bundled out for 139 in 35 overs.
T&T earlier added just two runs to their overnight total before being dismissed for 267 in 85 overs, as Veerasammy Permaul finished with 4 for 14.