Anthony Foster, Freelance Writer

COOLIDGE, Antigua:

Antigua and Barbuda became the latest team to secure a quarterfinal spot in the Stanford 20/20 tournament after beating United States Virgin Islands (USVI) by 24 runs on Saturday night.

The Antiguans, choosing to bat, reached 153 for eight from their quota of 20 overs, then restricted the USVI to 129 for eight in 20 overs.

Chasing 154 for victory, USVI had the wickets in hand but couldn't quite match the asking rate that got up to 12 an over at one point.

Opting to bat first, Antigua reached 153 with Windel Cornwall getting 31 and Justin Athanaze and Juari Edwards scoring 21 each. Calvin Lewis took the most wickets, finishing with 3 for 16.

Recovery

In reply, USVI recovered well from the early loss of their openers courtesy of a 66-run third-wicket stand between Sherville Huggins and Junie Anthony. Huggins made 46 while Anthony was left standing on 32.

Antigua and Barbuda's captain Sylvester Joseph was happy with the win, but not how it was achieved.

"The most important thing is that we won the game," he said. Joseph, however, said his team 'really did not apply the basics.'

Losing captain Huggins blamed his bowlers for the defeat.

"We had Antigua on the backfoot at the 16th over, but somehow our bowlers did not stick to the task and the batsmen got on top of us."

However, with that behind them, he is already making plans for next season. "We will come back better and stronger with a much younger team," he said.

Antigua and Barbuda will play the winners of last night's clash between Bermuda and defending champions Guyana.