Category: CANA News

Trinidad and Tobago’s Defence Minister Wayne Sturge says the Government has recorded significant gains in the fight against drug and gun trafficking since taking office eight months ago, but has raised concern over 28,000 rounds of ammunition that remain unaccounted for and the continued entry of illegal firearms through legal ports.

He told the Trinidad Express that the scale of criminality inherited by the current administration could not be reversed quickly, but insisted the Government is moving aggressively to strengthen national security.

‘We have already removed the URP (Unemployment Relief Programme), which fuelled turf wars, and we have started the employment drive to assist with social and economic issues,’ Sturge said. ‘We are very concerned that we have 28,000 rounds of TTR ammunition unaccounted for.. A substantial reduction in the availability of ammunition for use by the criminal element will be a big win for the Government and the law-abiding.’ He also defended the effectiveness of a radar system installed in Tobago by the United States military, saying it has played a role in recent drug interdiction successes.

‘I am advised that the radar did in fact play a part in the recent drug busts,’ the defence minister said. ‘A routine Google search would show that radar systems most times do not operate in isolation but as a component of a larger system which may include satellite systems as well as military-grade drone systems.’

Sturge said the country’s capacity to detect illegal trafficking was severely limited before the installation of the radar systems.

‘Prior to the acquisition of the military radar systems installed, our capacity was limited; the results now speak volumes, and the criminal element would concede that deliveries are at a bare minimum and mostly through ports of legal entry, which we will address shortly,’ he said.

According to the minister, the enhanced surveillance has sharply reduced the flow of drugs into the country.

‘The radar systems have significantly improved surveillance, making it extremely difficult to penetrate our borders with the type of regularity which the criminal element hitherto enjoyed,’ Sturge said. ‘I am virtually certain that a visit to the various drug blocks would reveal an extreme scarcity of drugs on a scale not previously seen. Availability is at an all-time low.’

He added that prior to the acquisition of the radar systems, Trinidad and Tobago was ‘severely hamstrung’ because of limitations in both radar capability and naval assets, but said the presence of the US Navy in the Southern Caribbean has brought ‘tangible benefits’.

He confirmed that information obtained through the radar system is shared with local law enforcement, ‘through appropriate channels’.

The defence minister also linked reduced gun and drug smuggling to efforts to curb gang violence.

‘We are satisfied that gun and drug smuggling is at an all-time low due in large part to the presence and assistance of the US Navy in the region,’ he said. ‘Once we eradicate or further significantly reduce the import of illegal drugs, firearms and ammunition, particularly through legal ports of entry, we are certain that we would, as a consequence, be better placed to reduce gang violence.’

He noted that while long-term solutions require social and behavioural interventions, immediate reductions in violence depend on cutting off access to weapons and ammunition.

‘In the short term, violent crime is reduced by eradicating the proximal causes, that is to say, once there are no guns or no ammunition for use, settling turf wars would of necessity revert to what obtained before, bottle fights, knives, cutlasses,’ Sturge said. ‘Once the proximal causes of violence are dealt with decisively, we can treat with the root causes of violent crime and criminality through behavioural change and socio-economic programmes in the medium to long term.’

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs said earlier this month that permission has been granted for the United States military to transit through Trinidad and Tobago’s airports, as part of ongoing cooperation between the two countries.

Jamaica’s women’s junior 4×100 metre relay team was recently voted the Best Women’s Team at the Junior Pan American Games, which were held in August.

The quartet of Alana Reid, Sabrina Dockery, Marissa Palmer and Serena Cole won gold in the event in a championship record 43.52 seconds, ahead of Trinidad and Tobago (43.89) and Colombia (44.01), who placed second and third respectively.

Their impressive performance saw them being named the best team, securing 24.1 per cent of the votes, ahead of Colombia’s sprint cycling team with 23.48 per cent, and Brazil’s volleyball team, which claimed 20.58 per cent of the votes. Argentina’s hockey team, Chile’s rowing team and Brazil’s handball team finished fourth, fifth and sixth in the voting, respectively.

The winners are set to be awarded at the next Pan Am Sports General Assembly to be held next year.

The team’s historic achievement has been hailed by the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA), with President Christopher Samuda maintaining that the recognition serves as another global recognition of Jamaica’s excellence track and field programme.

‘The JOA celebrates with our juniors in winning Pan Am’s Best Women’s Team award. The award underscores the excellence that the team demonstrated in the 4x100m relay at the Games.

‘It was a display of team spiritedness and an unwavering commitment to Jamaica to be atop the podium, where the admiration and pride of a nation beams,’ Samuda said.

The Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) has published the electoral calendar in the official gazette, Le Moniteur, indicating the key stages from the submission of candidacies to the proclamation of the final results as Haiti prepares for a elections widely expected to take place next year.

The publication of the electoral calendar follows the publication of the Electoral Decree in Special Issue 66 of Le Moniteur on December 1 by the Presidential Transitional Council (CPT).

Presidential elections were held in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country on November 20, 2016 after having been postponed several times, Jovenel Moise was declared the winner of the polls and assumed office on February 7, 2017.

But Haiti has been without an elected head of state ever since Moise was assassinated on June 7, 2021. Since then, armed gangs have seized control of almost the entire capital, Port-au-Prince, as well as large swathes of rural areas of Haiti.

But the country has taken several steps toward holding the long-delayed elections with the creation of the nine-member provisional electoral council tasked with organising the elections..

According to the CEP, the the key dates include the start of the election campaign on May 19, running until August 28, 2026, and the first round of voting (legislative and presidential) on August 30.

The first round results will be published on October 3, 2026, and the second round on December 6, 2026. The final results of the second round will be published on January 7, 2027.

The final publication and posting of the final results of the local elections that will be held on December 6, 2026, will be on February 20, 2027.

The Electoral Council said that adherence to these deadlines is contingent upon two factors, namely that the acceptable security environment and the availability of resources.

The CEP said that to organise elections throughout the country, it must have access to and operate in all municipalities and communal sections throughout the entire process. Specifically, it said it must be able to move about safely and work day and night in all Departmental Electoral Offices (BEDs), Communal Electoral Offices (BECs), and polling stations.

The Provisional Electoral Council that ‘A total of 23 communes, spread across the departments of West (12), Artibonite (8), Center (3), and Northwest (1), are currently under the control of armed bandits(and that).The current security situation has major implications for electoral logistics.’

On the issue of resources, the CEP said that the budget is a crucial pillar of the electoral process.

‘Organising elections in Haiti involves simultaneously managing multiple emergencies that require swift action in all regions of the country. The electoral institution must have its own financial resources to manage certain activities and unforeseen events,’ the CEP added.

Prime Minister Godwin Friday says his New Democratic Party (NDP) government is exploring ways to ease the pressure the EC$3.1 billion national debt placed on government finances.

Friday, who is also the minister of finance, disclosed the size of the national debt in radio interviews this week, adding that he was still reviewing information on the nation’s fiscal situation, three weeks after the NDP was voted into office.

Friday spoke about the national debt in an interview on Hot 97 on Tuesday and also addressed the topic during a similar appearance on Boom FM on Wednesday – Christmas Eve.

He said despite the fiscal situation, his government will honour the promises it made to citizens during the campaign for the Nov. 27 general election, reiterating that a salary bonus will be paid in January.

‘I’m not going to use that as an excuse because you will not get an excuse, because I will honour those pledges,’ the prime minister said.

He said the budget that he will bring to Parliament in January will increase public assistance to EC$500, as the NDP had also promised in the campaign.

Social welfare recipients will begin receiving that amount from February.

Asked where the money will come from, the prime minister said, ‘You let me worry about that.’

He noted that the Ministry of Finance has not had to prepare a transition document on the state of the economy for a new government in 25 years.

‘So, they prepared that, to me, it’s a fairly thick document, and I’m working my way through it,’ the prime minister said on Hot 97.

Friday became prime minister on Nov. 28, one day after the NDP won 14 of the 15 parliamentary seats, with the remaining one going to the Unity Labour Party (ULP), which had been governing the country since March 2001.

Friday said there are some things that his party knew about government finances.

‘.. we knew that the government finances are tight. You have a debt now that is over $3 billion . $3.1 billion in public debt.’

The prime minister said a lot of the debt is to countries, some is owed to the Caribbean Development Bank CDB and other parts are financial instruments that had been floated to be able to pay for certain things.

He said there are payables that the government had not been honouring to local businesses.

‘And it’s quite a lot .’ he said, adding that while he had the figure, he did not want to disclose it as yet.

‘. I have to remember that I’m not in opposition,’ said Friday, who served as opposition leader from November 2016 to November 2025.

‘I’m not here to expose and depose. . I want the people in my office – they are very capable people – to do their job without feeling that they’re in a fishbowl and that they can’t trust the prime minister with certain information,’ Friday said.

‘. the point of the matter is we are looking very carefully at what the financial status of the country is. We knew before going into government that things were difficult.

‘What we didn’t know is how difficult they were. But as I say, that is something that was not outside my expectations.’

Asked how bad, on a scale of one to 10, the economy was, the prime minister said, ‘eleven.’

He said the government has not appointed auditors to look into government financing, as they are trying to get a sense of the situation.

The prime minister said his cabinet is going through the process of assessing wastage in government.

‘There are individual things we could see from when we were outside,’ he said.

The prime minister said the NDP had cutting wastage in mind when it announced during the election campaign that an NDP government would pay EC$500 to fmailies on the birth of a child.

‘And people said, ‘Oh, where you go get the money from?’ Well, what it costs to do the baby bonus for one year is what they spent on the Emancipation cricket tournament,’ he said, referring to the cricket festival that the ULP administration held in August.

‘But the point was that if you put those money where they’re supposed to go, then people benefit, and it doesn’t cost anything more,’ Friday said.

Meanwhile, in his interview on Boom FM, the prime minister said the size of the national debt means that one-third of the money that the government collects goes to debt servicing.

To illustrate, he said that if someone borrows EC$50,000 to buy a minivan, they don’t want to pay it back by borrowing from friends.

”Cause if you’re borrowing to pay back your loan, then you’re digging a deeper hole for yourself.

‘It applies the same way that you have to pay from what you earn. We have not been able to do that. And so, what’s been happening is that a big chunk of the money that we earn, more than a third of it, goes just to service debt , and very often we don’t have that because you have to meet other obligations. You have to pay health care, to pay for education and fix the potholes in the road .’

The prime minister said the government has to find ways to tighten up the financing of development projects.

‘. to find ways in which to make savings and to also be more efficient and also to stabilise the situation going forward as we invest in growing the economy.’

He, however, said this does not mean ‘banding yo’ belly’ as the host of the show suggested.

‘Well, I wouldn’t use that language. The point of the matter is, I’m bringing hope to people. What I’m saying, what I want to do is that we are going to be focused on essentially running government, the finances of government, in the way that it was designed to be done.’

He said the ULP administration did things that seemed expedient or convenient and justified it by saying it was being done in the interest of the poor.

‘The point of the matter is that if you are serving poor people, you don’t get yourself in a situation where, instead of paying debt at 3 and 4% interest, you’re borrowing, or you’re doing overdrafts and so forth that you’re borrowing, or you’re paying back at 8% interest. That takes money away from what you can do to help people.’

Friday said the NDP has complained for years about the government ignoring the guardrails that govern how government finances should be managed.

He said it might take the NDP government some time to correct the situation but it is committed to doing so.

‘. because it is part of good governance. People look at us from the outside and say, ‘These guys are serious about running the country properly.’

‘And then, also for the ordinary folk here, the ordinary people in the country, it benefits them more because it means that government revenue, the fiscal position of government, is basically sounder.

‘And you don’t have this situation where you always have to be borrowing and borrowing and borrowing and borrowing at expensive rates that create hardship for people,’ the prime minister said.

Police were searching for the gunmen who stormed a home in Arima, east of here, killing two people, including a 14-year-old boy.

Police have since identified the victims as Fadius Malchan, 14, and Dijon Cottoy, 23. They said Malchan’s eight-year-old brother was also shot in the attack and remains in a stable condition at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) in Mount Hope, along the east-west corridor.

Police said that they responded to reports of a shooting and when they arrived at the location they found the 14-year-old lying on his back with gunshot wounds to the left and right temples. Cottoy was found dead in a bed with multiple gunshot wounds to his body.

The teenager’s mother, Nathania Lindsay, who was home at the time of the attack, said Cottoy was a family friend and that her 14-year-old son was not involved in any criminal activity.

‘My son wasn’t in nothing, he walked to the shop, he will do anything for anybody. Everybody know this child,’ she said, adding that she had been saving to buy a bicycle for her son for Christmas Day, but without a stable job, was unable to do so.

She said all the eight-year-old wanted was a pack of Skittles as his Christmas gift, but now all he remembers is how his brother died.

‘Because he’s talking, these things are normal.like it’s a normal thing, like you watch a video game,’ she said.

Meanwhile, a 59-year-old man will re-appear in court on January 27next year after he was charged with the unlawful killing of Brian Figaro, who died three days after being beaten on December 8.

Police said that Servulus Figaro has been charged with manslaughter and made an appearance before a Master of the Court.

The police said that Figaro was involved in a heated argument with a male relative on December 8 and during the incident, the victim was allegedly struck repeatedly about the body by the relative with a baton, sustaining injuries to his head and abdominal region.

Three days later the victim reportedly collapsed at his home and became unresponsive. He was taken to the Princes Town District Health Facility, south of here, for treatment, where he died.

Figaro was arrested and charged with the offence, following advice received from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, on December 23, the police added.

The California-based Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) is demanding ‘justice, transparency and systemic change’ following the death of Haitian national, Jean Wilson Brutus, in the custody of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.

ICE said late last week that Brutus, a 41-year-old ‘criminal illegal national from Haiti’, who was detained at Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, New Jersey, passed away, December 12, from ‘suspected natural causes.’

The immigration enforcement agency said Brutus entered its custody on December 11 after he was released from Union County Jail in Elizabeth, New Jersey, following his arrest for ‘criminal mischief-damage to property.’

But HBA Executive Director, Guerline Jozef, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) on Friday that her organisation ‘stands in solidarity with the family, loved ones, and community’ of Brutus, ‘who died just one day after entering ICE custody.

‘According to family members, Brutus was healthy upon intake and had no known serious medical conditions prior to his detention; yet, he did not leave alive.

‘This horrific death is not an aberration; it is yet another tragic reminder of the state-sanctioned violence inflicted upon immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers by the cruel immigration enforcement system,’ she added.

Jozef said that far too many immigrants have died while in ICE custody, thanking Congressional Representatives LaMonica Mclver Yvette D. Clarke and Rob Menendez for conducting an oversight visit at Delaney Hall Detention Facility on Tuesday.

Jozef said HBA demands ‘a fully independent, impartial investigation into the circumstances of Jean Wilson Brutus’s death and all practices at Delaney Hall; immediate accountability for ICE, GEO Group, and any agents or contractors whose negligence or indifference may have contributed to this tragedy; (and) an end to the detention of asylum seekers and the abolition of punitive immigration enforcement structures that disproportionately harm Black migrants.’

In addition, she said HBA is demanding legislative action ‘to ensure humane treatment, oversight, and protections for all people seeking refuge in the United States.

‘What happened to Mr. Jean Wilson Brutus is not just a medical failure – it is the predictable outcome of a carceral immigration system designed to warehouse Black and Brown bodies out of sight. Detention is not about safety; it is about control, profit, and racialized exclusion.

‘When the state cages people for seeking protection, death becomes policy. We owe Jean’s family more than condolences. We owe them the truth, justice, and the dismantling of a system that keeps killing people,’ Jozef added.

Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York, confirmed that she toured the Delaney Hall Detention Facility, saying Congressional oversight is essential to preventing and ending the abuses at Delaney Hall and within other detention facilities nationwide’.

Clarke, who also chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, told CMC afterwards ‘no human being deserves to suffer the conditions we witnessed behind the veil of Donald Trump’s deportation machine, today.

‘But while the state of this facility was shocking, it was not at all unexpected,’ she added.

ICE said Brutus entered the United States illegally on June 20, 2023 at the Hidalgo Port of Entry in Hidalgo, Texas.

He was then paroled him into the United States, pending immigration proceedings, ICE said.

Between July 2024 to October 2024, ICE said the Elizabeth Police Department (EPD) in Elizabeth, Newark arrested Brutus for criminal trespassing three times.

ICE said EPD released him into the community all three times.

On November 19, 2025, it said EPD arrested Brutus the fourth time for criminal trespassing. This charge is currently pending. On the same day, ICE said its Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in Newark ‘encountered him while detained at the Union County Jail (NUCJ) in Elizabeth, New Jersey and lodged an immigration detainer.’

ICE said NUCJ subsequently released him without notifying it.

On November 28, 2025, ICE said EPD arrested Brutus for two counts of criminal mischief – damage property, Despite, an immigration detainer, he was released to the community again, ICE said.

It said it arrested Brutus on December 11, 2025 and when he entered its custody on that day , ‘he had no signs of distress during intake nor a medical history of cardiovascular issues.’

ICE said it notified the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility and the Haitian consulate of Brutus’ death, as required by agency policy.

Christmas day celebrations in Guyana were marred by two deaths including that of a two-year-old toddler, whose body was found in a trench and with the authorities treating the death as a drowning.

Police said that Zoria Seegobin was staying with relatives at Grant Atlas, Lower Pomeroon River at the time of the incident and that the matter is under investigation.

The police statement did not say if anyone was assisting the ‘ongoing’ investigation and that the child drowned during the early hours of Christmas morning.

‘Initial enquiries revealed that the child had been staying with relatives at the said address for the Christmas holiday. In the early hours of December 25, 2025 she was discovered missing from the home and was subsequently found submerged in a nearby trench,’ police said.

Police said she was taken to the Charity Cottage Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

A post-mortem is to be carried out, the police added.

In another incident, police said they have arrested a 48-year-old woman, who is reported to have fatally stabbed her husband at their home in Tuschen Phase 2, East Bank Essequibo.

Lawmen said that preliminary investigations revealed that 49-year-old Gavin Linden Melville, also known as ‘Doggie’, a labourer, and his wife reportedly returned home after attending an event when an altercation ensued inside the residence.

‘During the incident, the male received a stab wound to the neck area,’ police said and was taken to the De Kinderen Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The woman has been taken into custody the police added.

Meanwhile, police say that a family member of leader of the main opposition We Invest Nationhood (WIN) party, Azruddin Mohamed, is assisting their investigation after a vehicle driven by her is examined by a licensing and certifying officer.

The polic said that an officer was conducting a traffic enforcement exercise along the Eccles Public Road, East Bank Demerara, when the vehicle was stopped.

‘She was asked to produce her driver’s licence and the documents for the said vehicle. While in the process of waiting for the documents to be produced, one identifiable male Mr Azruddin Mohamed, MP, approached the said vehicle, having arrived in a black car, and told the female driver to drive home and not to the police station,’ the police said in a statement.

The police said that the driver drove away and the officers at the traffic enforcement exercise followed the vehicle and attempted to clamp the wheel when a man, produced the documents indicating that he is the registered owner of the vehicle.

Police said he was then told of the offences committed by him, to which he was invited to Providence Police Station. Police said the female driver will be notified by notice and summoned for failure to comply with directions of police in uniform, failure to produce a driver’s license, and other documents.

Police Commissioner Enville Williams is urging the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines not to carry the baggage of this year into the new year, calling on them also to ‘leave the bitterness at the doorstep of the old year.

‘Let us lay down the arms of anger and pick up the tools of brotherhood. Let us walk into the new year as architects of a brighter future, ‘ Williams said, noting that this year, ‘we proved something to the world that no amount of money could buy.

‘When the eyes of the region were on us during our seasons of transition, we did not break. We did not resort to the chaos that consumes lesser nations. We walked through the fires of change with the dignity of a people who know that a house divided cannot stand.’.

Williams was making reference to the November 27 general election that saw the main opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) win the polls by a 14-1 majority and in the process prevented then prime minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves from leading his Unity Labour Party (ULP) into a six consecutive term in office.

Williams said that this is the peace he wants the country to be celebrating into the new year, adding ‘we have shown that we can disagree without being disagreeable; that we can change our leaders but never our love for Hairouna..

‘From the mother in Fancy, to the fisherman in the Grenadines still rebuilding his life after the ravages of Hurricane Beryl, and to the youth in Kingstown facing a future that looks nothing like the past: do not let your hearts be troubled.

‘National security is not only about patrols and sirens. It is a covenant. It is the promise that you can sleep peacefully tonight because your neighbour watches your gate, and the police watch your streets,’ he said, reminding the citizens that ‘the strongest shield we possess is not forged from steel’ but as a result of the unity usually found at around Christmas season.

The SA20’s fourth season exploded into life with a boundary-laden thriller at a heaving Newlands on Friday, where Durban’s Super Giants (DSG) stunned defending champions MI Cape Town (MICT) by 15 runs in a tournament record shootout.

In a match that produced 449 runs, the second-highest aggregate in SA20 history, DSG’s mammoth 232 for 7 proved just enough to overcome a spectacular century from MICT’s Ryan Rickelton.

The Super Giants, who finished at the bottom of the table last season, seized the initiative after being put in to bat.

A polished 96-run opening stand between Devon Conway 64 and Kane Williamson 40, laid a formidable platform.

MICT’s bowlers fought back briefly, but explosive cameos from Heinrich Klaasen 22, Aiden Markram 35, Evan Jones 33 not out, and a blistering 10-ball 29 from David Wiese propelled DSG past 230. George Linde with 2-46 was the pick of the MICT attack.

Faced with the highest chase required in the competition’s history, MICT’s reply was spearheaded by a breathtaking innings from Ryan Rickelton.

The opener smashed a career-best 113 from just 63 deliveries, hammering a record 11 sixes, the most by a batter in a single SA20 innings. He found solid support from Jason Smith, who weighed in with 41, and Reeza Hendricks, 28.

West Indian Nicholas Pooran could only manage to score 15 before he went to David Weise.

Needing 31 from the final two overs with six wickets in hand, victory seemed within MICT’s grasp. However, DSG’s young seamers displayed remarkable composure under fire.

Kwena Maphaka and Eathan Bosch, who finished with 4-46, executed their plans to perfection, triggering a dramatic collapse of 3 wickets for 15 runs in the last 12 deliveries.

MICT’s charge fell short at 217 for 7, handing DSG a statement victory to start their campaign.

The Desert Vipers weathered a spirited late fightback from the Sharjah Warriorz and West Indian Johnson Charles, to clinch a tense five-wicket victory at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium here on Friday, simultaneously securing their own playoff berth and extinguishing their opponents’ season. The win propels the Vipers to a historic eight group-stage victories in the DP World ILT20, while the shattered Warriorz bow out of contention.

The playoff picture now narrows, with the final spot to be decided in Sunday’s clash between Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and Gulf Giants.

They will join the Vipers, MI Emirates, and Dubai Capitals. Meanwhile, Sunday’s other fixture between MI Emirates and Dubai Capitals will determine a top-two finish.

Chasing a modest 141, the Vipers’ innings stuttered early against sharp bowling from Sikandar Raza and Richard Ngarava, stumbling to 9-2 within the powerplay.

The chase found its anchor in a composed Max Holden, whose masterful, unbeaten 66 off 46 balls with 9 fours and a six, guided his side home.

He shared a steadying 64-run stand with Sam Curran, who weighed in with a valiant 25 off 28 balls, before USA spinner Harmeet Singh sparked a late flutter.

Harmeet’s triple strike, removing Curran, Dan Lawrence, and Jason Roy in the middle overs, briefly tilted the game, reducing the Vipers to 97-5 in the 16th over.

However, Hasan Nawaz, with a dogged unbeaten 25 off 14, arrived to partner Holden in a match-winning, unbroken 47-run blitz, sealing the win with 10 balls to spare.

Earlier, the Warriorz’ innings never found fluency after a disastrous start. Naseem Shah, with 3-24, was the chief destroyer; his vital spells included the key wicket of a counter-attacking Tom Kohler-Cadmore for 20 and James Rew for 22.

St. Lucian Charles, with 43 off 37, provided brief resistance, but regular wickets crippled the momentum. Despite Ryan Burl’s unbeaten 21, the Warriors could only post 140-7, a total that ultimately proved insufficient against Holden’s calm brilliance.