CCC trounce Leewards, but both bow out

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC):

Left-arm spinner Kavesh Kantasingh's six-wicket haul and Floyd Reifer's unbeaten half-century combined to fire Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) to a four-wicket win over defending champions Leeward Islands in the Regional Super50 Series here yesterday.

Despite the win, however, CCC, which upset Trinidad and Tobago by five wickets in their first-round encounter before going under to Jamaica in their next match, exited from the tournament as T&T defeated Jamaica by 37 runs to book their semi-final spot.

Asked to bat first in hazy conditions at the Guyana National Stadium, the Leeward Islands, who shared the title last year with Barbados, were dismissed for 174 in the final over, with Kantasingh claiming six for 26 from 12 controlled overs. He was supported by off-spinner Ryan Austin, who finished with two for 36 from 10.2 overs, as Jahmar Hamilton top scored with 45 and Jaison Peters got 40.

Reifer, a former West Indies captain, then stroked an unbeaten 52 to guide CCC to victory, after they were set a revised target of 148 from 34 overs. With CCC needing four runs off the final over, the veteran left-hander smashed a six off the first ball from off-spinner Justin Athanaze to secure full points.