First up, Goolie led the charge in helping the Red Force to a massive 409 all out, before Phillip was the main destroyer in restricting the Volcanoes to 173 and 152.
When the Red Force bat for the only time in the match, Goolie scored 128, to lead all scorers but was more than well supported by Imran Khan, 84, Kyle Hope, 54, and Jason Mohammed, 45, in putting together 409.
That 409 was made despite 5-60 from Preston McSween. Kenneth Dember toiled hard for his three wickets at a cost of 125 runs, while Ryan John took 1-85, and Obed McCoy took 1-77.
In reply, the Volcanoes could only manage 173 largely thanks to the veteran Devon Smith, who top scored with 67.
Phillip was the chief destroyer, bagging 4-53. Akeal Hosein, 2-27, and Khan, 2-6, provided wonderful support.
The Volcanoes follow on didn’t go any better, with Kerron Cottoy’s 35 accounting for the most runs against Phillip’s 6-19 in just 9.2 overs.
Phillip would end with a remarkable 10-72 in the match.
The two-time champions endured a disastrous season in 2019 when they won only two games and finished at the foot of the six-team standings. With the disaster behind them, the Tallawahs decided on a complete overhaul of the squad that included releasing veteran T20 batsman Christopher Gayle while retaining only five players from the previous campaign.
In Monday’s draft, the Tallawahs brought in 2016 T20 World Cup hero Carlos Brathwaite and the big-hitting Glen Phillips to complement Captain Rovman Powell, Andre Russell and Chadwick Walton. They have also added Nkrumah Bonner and Andre McCarthy.
Meanwhile, Fidel Edwards, Veerasammy Permaul, Sandeep Lamichhane and Preston McSween have bolstered the bowling.
“I am hoping that we have a better team. We were rebuilding and that was the whole idea,” Miller told Sportsmax.TV on Tuesday.
“After retaining the five we were looking to rebuild around them.”
Miller explained that they brought in Edwards, the former West Indies pace bowler, to partner young fast bowler Oshane Thomas and McSween to support them both. Right-arm leg-spin bowler Sandeep and Permaul, he said, add a cutting edge to a bowling attack that he expects to be effective on the pitches in Trinidad.
“We expect the pitches to be bowler-friendly,” Miller said, indicating that he believes the pitches in the twin-island republic to wear as the tournament progresses.
Miller is also hopeful that the Tallawahs’ batting will deliver this coming season. He is relying on the experienced Powell, Russell, Phillips and Walton to get the bulk of the runs but in Brathwaite and the returning Andre McCarthy, he is expecting additional stability and firepower.
Brathwaite, he believes, can “do damage” at the back end of the innings but further up the order is where he expects McCarthy to finally deliver on his potential. “I am hoping that McCarthy and Nkrumah Bonner can solidify the number-three slot. I am hoping that a maturing McCarthy can step up to the plate,” he said.
Without going into detail, Miller hinted that they might have missed out on some players they were hoping to sign but those players were drafted by other franchises before the Tallawahs had a shot at them.
Bonner arrived at the wicket in the 18th over following the dismissal of Kieran Powell for 31 by Rahkeem Cornwall after he (Powell) and Shayne Moseley shared in an opening stand of 47.
Moseley was the second wicket to fall in the 32nd over, also to the bowling of Cornwall, for 39 after adding 35 with Bonner for the second wicket. Captain Jermaine Blackwood and Bonner then put on 55 for the third wicket when the former was trapped lbw by Preston McSween for 27.
Blackwood’s dismissal paved the way for an 88-run stand between Bonner and Kavem Hodge, who was eventually trapped lbw by Veerasammy Permaul for 39.
Bonner has so far faced 200 balls and hit seven fours and two sixes will resume his 12-run partnership with Raymon Reifer who is at the other end on two.
Cornwall has so far taken 2-52 from 16 overs while Permaul has 1-52 and McSween 1-25.
The BestvBest matches are to prepare players for the upcoming West Indies tour of Sri Lanka following the conclusion of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
The Scorpions started the day 118-4 with Paul Palmer Jr joining night watchman Marquino Mindley at the crease.
The pair put on just 13 before Mindley was dismissed by Preston McSween to leave the Scorpions 131-5, just six runs behind the Windwards first innings total of 137.
However, Brandon King joined Palmer Jr in the middle and the two put on an additional 30 runs before Palmer edged to second slip off the bowling of Josh Thomas for 15.
Derval Green came and went for a three-ball duck to leave the Scorpions 161-7 before wicketkeeper/batsman Aldane Thomas joined King in the middle.
The pair added some stability with a partnership of 58 before Thomas went caught at slip off the bowling of Sherman Lewis for 20 to leave the score 219-8 just after the lunch break.
Jamie Merchant and King then mounted a stand of 109 for the ninth wicket, taking the score to 328 when Merchant was dismissed for 58, his maiden first-class half-century.
King also scored his third first-class hundred during the stand and was 119 not out off 154 balls in the end.
The Scorpions eventually got to 346 all out, a commanding first innings lead of 209 runs.
Preston McSween was the pick of the Volcanoes bowlers with 4-96 off 25 overs while Josh Thomas supported well with 3-56 off 21 overs.
Kimani Melius and Devon Smith then began the task of overhauling the Scorpions' total with an opening partnership of 31 before Melius fell to Derval Green for 17.
Captain Kavem Hodge then joined Smith and the pair put on 36 before Smith was next to go, becoming Green’s second victim for a top score of 31.
Alick Athanaze was next to the crease and he and his captain looked comfortable, putting on 34 until the final over of the day which saw Jamie Merchant dismiss Athanaze for 17 to leave the Volcanoes 101-3 off 33.1 overs at stumps, still trailing by 108 runs.
Kavem Hodge is currently 30 not out while Derval Green has taken 2-35 off 10 overs for the Scorpions.
Campbell, who is hoping to retain his place in the West Indies team for the Test series against Sri Lanka later this month, scored 129 from 253 balls from which he hit 15 fours and three sixes in his more than five-hour stay at the crease.
He partnered with Captain Roston Chase to put on a fourth-wicket stand of 183 after Jayden Seales and Preston McSween had combined to reduce the side to 53-3. Seales accounted for the wickets of Shayne Moseley for three and Sunil Ambris for a duck to have Chase XI in trouble early at 12 for 2.
Campbell and Nkrumah Bonner then put on 41 for the third wicket before McSween dismissed the latter for 16.
Campbell and Chase took the score to 236 when Chase fell to Kavem Hodge for 75. He struck 10 fours in the innings that lasted for 208 minutes during which he faced 159 deliveries. Campbell eventually fell to the bowling of Rahkeem Cornwall after he and Jermaine Blackwood had put on 16 for the sixth wicket.
Blackwood, meantime, remained unbeaten on 18 at the close. Imran Khan is with him on three.
Seales, who also dismissed Raymon Reifer for 2, was the best of the bowlers taking 3-42 while McSween, who claimed the wickets of Bonner and Jahmar Hamilton returned figures of 2-40.
The Hurricanes started the day 99-5 off 39 overs with a lead of 128 runs in their second innings with Montcin Hodge on 45 and Kofi James yet to get off the mark.
Hodge ended up making a top score of 59 as the Leewards eventually folded for 144 off 55 overs.
McSween led the charge with the ball for the Volcanoes with 5-39 off 13 overs while Larry Edward took 3-9 from eight in support.
Chasing 174 for victory, the Volcanoes reached 32-0 at lunch with Teddy Bishop on 15 and Keron Cottoy on 12.
They lost three wickets after the resumption, including first innings centurion Kavem Hodge, but Alick Athanaze, who also got a century in the first innings, and Sunil Ambris steadied the ship.
At tea, the Volcanoes were 151-3 off 34 overs, needing only 23 more runs to win with Athanaze on 31 and Ambris on 28.
Shortly after tea, Athanaze was dismissed for 38 before Ambris and Tevyn Walcott guided the Volcanoes to 174-4 off 38 overs. Ambris finished 40*.
Rakheem Cornwall took 2-53 off 13 overs for the Hurricanes.
The Volcanoes resumed on 101-3 with captain Kavem Hodge (30) and Ackeem Auguste (0) at the crease needing to score 209 to overhaul their first innings deficit of 209 runs.
The pair added a further 26 before Auguste became Merchant’s first scalp of the day for 11.
First innings half-centurion Keron Cottoy joined his captain and the pair put on 36 before Merchant dismissed Cottoy for 21 to leave the Volcanoes struggling at 163-5.
The popular cricket phrase “one brings two” was in full effect as just two balls later, Merchant removed wicketkeeper/batsman Denis Smith for a duck to leave the Volcanoes 163-6.
In the midst of the carnage, Hodge brought up a well-played half century before being the seventh wicket to fall, dismissed by Green for 63 as the Volcanoes slumped to 173-7.
Sherman Lewis (6), Preston McSween (4) and Josh Thomas (0) were the final three wickets to fall as Merchant and Green mopped up the tail to secure the massive win for the Scorpions.
Merchant, who scored 58 when the Scorpions batted, followed up with 5-72 from 28 overs to cap a fine all-round performance while Green ended with 5-46 from 18.2 overs.
Final scores: Windward Islands Volcanoes 137 and 195, Jamaica Scorpions 346.
In match reduced by rain to 40 overs, Pooran scored an unbeaten 99 and Darren Bravo 67 not out sharing in an unbeaten fourth-wicket partnership of 155 as TT Red Force cruised to 249-3 (D/L). The West Indies white-ball captain scored his runs from just 71 balls and hit 11 fours and two sixes along the way. Bravo hit nine fours in his 63-ball knock.
Opener Kjorn Ottley made 43 for the Trinidad franchise while partnering in a 49-run second-wicket stand with Jason Mohammed, who made 25. Ottley was eventually dismissed after putting on 13 for the third partnership of 13 with Bravo, who would find a match-winning partner in Pooran.
Justin Greaves was the best of the Windward bowlers with 2-55. Preston McSween took 1-57.
Earlier, the Windwards recovered from a precarious 36-4 in the seventh over after Akeal Hosein 2-37 and Shannon Gabriel 1-36 did the early damage.
The owed their recovery to an unbeaten knocks of 90 from Sunil Ambris and 68 from Andre Fletcher, who shared in an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 165 that took the team to 201-4 from their 40 overs.
Unfortunately, thanks to Pooran and company it proved not to be enough.
