Anchorman Alleyne says gameplan was to bat to the end

Bridgetown, Barbados – Anthony Alleyne starred with the bat as Combined Campuses & Colleges recorded a huge win over Trinidad & Tobago to book a spot in the Grand Final of the Regional Super 50 tournament. The rookie left-hander, in his first year at this level, made a superb 99 as CCC posted a challenging 232-7 off 50 overs – their highest score of the tournament.

T&T batted poorly and were bowled out for 92 in the 32nd over in a surprisingly one-sided semi-final at Kensington Oval on Thursday night. CCC qualified for the Grand Final for the first time and will meet the winners of the second semi-final between Jamaica and Windward Islands – to be played on Friday.

Alleyne’s batting effort was backed by excellent bowling and fielding. Fast bowler Kesrick Williams took three wickets with the new ball, as he bowled with sustained pace and accuracy which rattled the T&T top order.

Left-arm seamer Raymon Reifer maintained his wicket-taking form with two wickets, while big-spinning leg-spinner Akeem Dewar closed out the match with two quick strikes. CCC had run outs in a brilliant fielding exhibition, while ‘keeper Chadwick Walton held a sharp catch to round off a memorable night.

"It was clear in my mind what I had to do. The gameplan was to bat to the end of the innings. I wasn’t really focusing on getting a hundred, the overall plan was to bat to the end and let the others bat around me. We were clear in our minds how we would go about the match and it was crucial that the batsmen gave the bowlers something to defend. After we batted we were confident we had a winning score and it was very good the way our bowlers went about the job as well. We deserved our victory," Alleyne said.

He added: "I was disappointed that I didn’t get a century, but in the end I played a crucial role and we won the match. When we came into the match few people gave us a chance and to win against a team like T&T was truly remarkable. We made our highest score of the season and we also bowled them out under 100. In the first round matches they bowled us out for under 100 and that really hurt us. So, to come here and get such a big victory has done us the world of good."

Alleyne won the Man-of-the-Match award in just his second Regional Super 50 match. He maintained his good form following 58 he made on debut against Guyana two weeks ago. The 19-year-old is a former West Indies Under-19 player, having batted in the middle-order at the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Australia last year.

"Right now I will bat anywhere they put me…I just want to play. I won’t say I have a preference, I’m willing to fit into the team wherever I’m required. I guess by getting scores at the top of the order, in the limited-overs format, it shows that I can bat either at the top or in the middle and I can also adapt my game to what is required," added Alleyne, who was educated at Queen’s College in Barbados and Dulwich College in England.