In his new role as opener, the experienced right-hander dominated the Barbados bowlers as Leewards made 270-3 in reply to 265-7. They reached the target with nine balls to spare and Thomas was named the CG Insurance Man-of-the-Match.
Keacy Carty also played well and finished unbeaten on 50 from 72 balls to ensure the brilliant work of Thomas did not go in vain. Captain Jahmar Hamilton, in his first knock since returning from Bangladesh, smashed 37 not out off 25 balls to seal the victory. Close to the end, he hit three towering sixes which disappeared into the stands.
“We limited them to score we felt we could manage. It was a very good pitch which got better as the day went on so we always felt we could chase down the score. I took it upon myself to do the scoring in the Power play. We were around 60 after the first 10 overs which is exactly where we wanted to be,” Thomas said.
“After that, it was just for me to keep going and build on a very good start. We never eased off and we kept pushing. I felt I was hitting the ball well in the earlier matches but I didn’t carry on. Today, things were in my favour and I was happy I made it count.”
Earlier, Jonathan Carter struck 100 off 121 balls and Shai Hope made 85 off 106 balls as they added 124 for the third wicket after Pride chose to bat first on a good surface. Both fell to fast bowler Quinton Boatswain (3-68). Fast bowler Alzarri Joseph, fresh from his outstanding exploits in Bangladesh, bowled an excellent opening spell and finished with 3-44.
The Final: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs Guyana Jaguars at Coolidge Cricket Ground. The first ball on Saturday is 1:30 pm (12:30 pm Jamaica Time)
Keon Harding took 4-42 and Johnathan Carter 2-9 to help Barbados dismantle the Leewards’ who owed their score to Devon Thomas who scored 58 and Kieran Powell, who made 43 on opening the batting.
Powell and Kacey Carty added 52 for the second wicket after Harding had dismissed Montcin Hodge for seven. Jomel Warrican broke the partnership when he dismissed Carty for 20.
The Leewards had added four runs to their score when Harding dismissed Powell to leave the visitors struggling as 76-3. Harding then dismissed Amir Mangoo for a 15-ball duck and the Leewards were in further trouble at 89-4.
Thomas and Jahmar Hamilton came together to mount the largest partnership of the innings, 72 for the fifth wicket when Johnathan Carter dismissed Thomas to end the resistance. Hamilton was eventually bowled for 29 and the Leewards innings fell away afterwards.
At the close of play, Kraigg Brathwaite was unbeaten on 11 and Shayne Moseley eight.
Man-of-the-Match Carty, who was a member of the West Indies team which won the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2016, recording his maiden List A century, an unbeaten 123 that included nine fours and three sixes on a good pitch at the Coolidge Cricket Ground.
However, it was Walsh that turned the match when in the final stages, with an asking rate of close to 14 runs per over, the left-handed Walsh smashed three massive sixes of a Chemar Holder over to score 28 off just nine balls which kept the chase alive.
Twenty-six runs came from the over that helped put Leewards on the path to victory while chasing 302.
In the high-scoring contest, Barbados Pride made 301-8, Leewards Islands Hurricanes replied with 305-6 as they reached the target with three balls to spare and picked up their first points of the tournament.
“I just kept going because I kept the team goals in mind. I knew I had to stay there for the team and bat to the end,” Carty said afterwards.
“It was a really good knock, but the others around me also played well and overall it was a great win for the team. I will look to do a similar kind of job in the next match and the others to come. We are confident and this win will give is a big boost.”
Earlier, Shamarh Brooks top-scored with 96 off 88 balls while left-hander Jonathan Carter made 58 off 91 balls. The pair added a record 160 for the third wicket for the Pride.
Fast bowler Quinton Boatswain, who claimed two wickets off successive deliveries in the 48th over, finished with 4-52 — his second four-for in as many matches — while leg-spinner Walsh claimed 3-75.
Jamaica Scorpions will take on the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Thursday starting at 9 am (8 am Jamaica).
Chasing a relatively modest target of 254, Trinidad started out well despite losing the wicket of Kjorn Ottley for four in the second over of the innings. His dismissal brought Mohammed, who provided a well-needed backbone to the Trinidad line up. He and Lewis put on 117 for the second wicket in 19 overs.
When Lewis got out to Roston Chase for 61, Mohammed and Denesh Ramdin added 29 over the next eight overs as the bowling tightened.
Then came the slide that saw Trinidad fall away from 150 for 2 to 158 for 5 as Ramdin fell for 10 and Kieron Pollard and Nicholas Pooran went without scoring.
However, Mohammed found a useful partner in Sunil Narine who scored 18 in a partnership worth 49.
Akeal Hosein helped Mohammed add another 45 before the latter fell for 122 that included 10 fours and two sixes and brought Trinidad to within sight of victory at 252 for 7. Hosein was unbeaten at the end on 20 as Trinidad managed to get to 256 without further loss.
Chase, who also got the wickets of Pooran and Ramdin finished 3-21 from his 10 overs and Dominic Drake 2-47.
Earlier, half-centuries from Justin Greaves, Johnathan Carter and Roston Chase were undermined by a five-wicket haul from Kieron Pollard as Barbados Pride scored 253 for 9 from their 50 overs.
Greaves hit six fours and a six in his score of 62 and featured in an opening stand of 44 with Zachary McCaskie (16) and 42 with Shamarh Brooks who made 20.
However, it was Carter and Chase, who came together at 106 for 3, who managed to push the score along producing a fourth-wicket stand of 102 before Carter got out to Akeal Hosein for 56.
Red Force captain Kieron Pollard then went to work taking the next five wickets including that of Chase for 56, as the Pride slumped from 208 for 4 to 253 for 9.
Chase and Holder had managed to put together 33 runs between them before the latter was dismissed for 18 with the score at 241 in the 48th over.
Pollard finished with 5 for 17 from three overs while Akeal Hosein took 2-44.
