Reifer stars in thrilling tie

Combined Campuses and Colleges 252 (Reifer 130, Pollard 3-48) tied with Trinidad and Tobago 252 (Ganga 71, Bravo 64)
Scorecard

In a thrilling start to the season, Floyd Reifer hit 130 off 111 balls as Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) tied their maiden KFC Cup match against Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.

Though CCC had been behind the run-rate for most of the chase, Reifer's innings boosted their chances of winning and it was a last-ball run out of Jason Parris that ended the match in a tie.

Half-centuries from Daren Ganga and Dwayne Bravo got T&T to 252 and it looked like they would defend the total with ease when CCC collapsed to 198 for 6. CCC needed 20 runs off the final two overs and after 12 runs were taken off Bravo, eight more were required off the last over.

Reifer, injured after colliding with Bravo in the previous over, had Craig Emmanuel running for him and fell when five more were needed. Parris and Jason Bennett were scrambling for a match-winning second run off the last ball, when Kieron Pollard's direct hit at the batsman's end dismissed Parris for eight.

Pollard also contributed with 3 for 48 off seven overs.

Guyana 180 for 7 (Sarwan 70) beat Windward Islands 179 for 9 (Sammy 58, Hector 37) by 3 wickets
Scorecard

Ramnaresh Sarwan hit a 102-ball 70 to power Guyana to a three-wicket victory against Windward Islands in their opening game of the KFC cup at the Albion Community Centre ground.

The Crandon brothers - offspinner Royston (3 for 32) and fast bowler Esuan (2 for 22) - set up the game for Guyana by restricting Windwards to 179 for 9. Guyana stumbled to 20 for 2 before Sarwan stitched together an 83-run stand with Narsingh Deonarine in 22 overs to set Guyana on course.

Sarwan started the chase with two feisty square cuts and was severe on anything loose outside off stump. The legspinner Rawl Lewis broke the partnership when he lured Deonarine (29) into driving to deep mid-off. Sarwan carried on, reaching his fifty in 65 balls, with the help of four boundaries. However, after surviving a reprieve on 62, off Pascal, when Andre Fletcher dropped a sitter at backward square leg, Sarwan fell, repeating the stroke in the next over.

Assad Fudadin (18) and Darwin Christian (19) inched Guyana close to victory and though the two fell three short of the target Guyana scampered home with seven balls to spare.

Earlier, Darren Sammy, benefiting from two chances when on 21 and 22, added 60 runs with Donwell Hector, who was also reprieved twice, for the fourth wicket after Esuan had removed the openers early to push Windwards to 53 for 3. However, the lower order collapsed and Windwards finished with a below-par score.