CENTURION, South Africa (CMC) – Trinidad and Tobago have crashed out of the Champions’ League T20 tournament after losing to Yorkshire by six wickets at Supersport Park yesterday. The Caribbean champions posted 148 for nine off 20 overs while England’s runners-up reached 154 for four with seven balls to spare.
The Red Force, electing to bat, were struggling on eight for the loss of three wickets after just three overs.
Opener Lendl Simmons went for seven while William Perkins and Adrian Barath went for ducks in a dramatic collapse which saw 18 deliveries without a run off the bat.
However skipper Denish Ramdin and Darren Bravo led the fightback as Ryan Sidebottom and Steven Patterson kept the pressure on.
In an effort to rebuild the innings, the two batsmen scored freely after a bowling change that brought on the seamers.
Ramdin’s counterattack ended with a top score of 59 when he was run-out while Bravo, playing a mistimed loft, was caught after scoring 45.
Yorkshire threatened to disintegrate under the pressure of the chase and collapsed to 51 for four.
However the efforts of Ravi Rampaul and Samuel Badree were not built on by the other bowlers as the game slipped away from Trinidad.
Big-hitting Gary Balance led the charge and was ruthless on the lesser bowlers as Yorkshire plundered 110 of 10.5 overs.
Balance top-scored with 64 not out that included hoisting Simmons for two sixes in the 16th over.
Adil Rashid was 33 not out.
Yorkshire’s victory in the three-team pool allows them to progress to the main competition, since under the rules of the competition, only the winner advances.
Trinidad and Tobago are now left to play an inconsequential game against Sri Lankan champions Uva today.

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO innings
L. Simmons c wkp. Hodgson b Sidebottom 7
W. Perkins c Ballance b Root 0
A. Barath b Patterson 0
DM Bravo c Ballance b Rashid 45
D. Ramdin run-out 59
J. Mohammed run-out 0
K. Cooper c Lyth b Sidebottom 15
R. Rampaul b Sidebottom 6
K. Ottley run-out 5
R Emrit not out  3
Extras: (lb-3, w-5) 8
Total: (9 wkts, 20 overs) 148
Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Perkins), 2-8 (Simmons), 3-8 (Barath), 4-101 (Bravo), 5-102 (Mohammed), 6-122 (Ramdin), 7-140 (Cooper), 8-140 (Rampaul), 9-148 (Ottley).
Bowling: Root 2-0-15-1, Sidebottom 4-0-13-3 (w-2), Patterson 4-1-32-1 (w-1), Azeem Rafiq  4-0-32-0, Ashraf 3-0-28-0, Rashid  3-0-25-1 (w-2).

YORKSHIRE innings
A. Gale b Badree 2
P. Jaques lbw b Rampaul 6
J. Root c & b Ottley 16
A. Lyth b Emrit18
G. Balance not out 33
Extras: (b-4, lb-2, w-8, nb-1) 15
Total: (4 wkts; 18.5 overs) 154
Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Jaques), 2-16 (Gale), 3-44 (Lyth), 4-51 (Root).
Bowling: Badree 4-0-22-1 (w-1), Rampaul 4-0-22-1, Emrit  3-0-29-1 (w-2), Ottley 2-0-16-1, Mohammed 1-0-11-0 (w-1), Cooper 2.5-0-28-0 (w-3), Simmons 2-0-20-0 (nb-1).