Falcons defend 155 against Tridents to go top

Falcons 155 for 5 (Moeen 56, Gore 27; Mujeeb 2-32) beat Tridents 125 all out (Clarke 27, Anderson 22, James 3-18) by 30 runs

The Falcons closed out the Antigua and Barbuda leg of the Caribbean Premier League with a win, defeating the Barbados Tridents by 30 runs at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Tuesday night to go three from four at home.

The hosts pulled the Tridents back from 93 for 3 in their chase, inflicting the visitors’ first defeat of the campaign. The Falcons bowlers delivered a comprehensive performance, triggering a middle-order collapse that resulted in the Tridents losing four wickets in two overs and ultimately being bowled out for 125, with their final seven wickets falling for just 32 runs.

Joshua James led the attack with figures of 3 for 18.

The Falcons earlier endured a disastrous start, with Rahkeem Cornwall yorked first ball by Daniel Sams. They would slip to 63 for 4 before an unbeaten half-century sixth-wicket partnership between top-scorer Moeen Ali (56*) and all-rounder Shamar Springer propelled them to a respectable total.

The Falcons captain shifted the momentum in the final six overs. His 75-run partnership with Springer (19 from 16), who played an important supporting role, gave the Falcons a respectable total.

Ali then exploded in the final over, smashing three consecutive sixes off Sams to take the Falcons to 155 for 5, with 72 runs coming from the last 36 balls.

The Falcons now return to the road to face the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots at Warner Park on Sunday. The Tridents will play their fourth match of the campaign on Friday against champions Trinbago Knight Riders at the Queen’s Park Oval.