REIGNING national female champions Rose Hall Town (RHT) Metro were last Sunday crowned female cricket champions of Berbice when they defeated Tucber Park by 56 runs at the Area ‘H’ Ground in Rose Hall Town to take the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) Millie Lewis Memorial trophy, sponsored by Peter Lewis Construction Firm.
Batting first after winning the toss, RHT Metro rallied to 149 all out in 35 of their allotted 40 overs with skipper Shemaine Campbelle top-scoring with 30 while Nikita Toney 20, Jacquelin Singh 15, Trisanna Cort 12 and Erva Giddings 10 offered support.
Bowling for Tucber Park, Teneisha Leonard took 4 for 45 runs while West Indies pacers Tremayne Smart and Subrina Munroe took one wicket each for 26 and 27 runs respectively from eight overs each.
In reply, Tucber Park found it difficult to negotiate the pace/spin combination that was in operation for the victorious team, who took an unassailable 2-0 lead in their three-match series and were bowled out for 93 inside the 25th over.
Only Smartt with 25 (3×4) and Steffi Rodney 13 reached double figures for Tucber Park against the bowling of Campbelle who took 3 for 21 with her leg-spin, Erva Giddings 2 for 22, Phaffiana Millington 2 for 11 and Shenella McBean 2 for 14.
Public Relations Officer Hilbert Foster hailed the tournament as a historic one for Berbice, as it was the first female tournament in the history of Berbice cricket and was high in praise for the sponsor who organised the tournament in memory of his mother.
Second vice-president Pastor Mark Lyte praised the female cricketers for displaying a high standard of cricket and said that it augurs well for the game in the Ancient County, while the BCB president Keith Foster congratulated the winners and urged all the female cricketers in Berbice to work harder at their game especially the mental and physical aspect.
Campbelle was named player-of-the-final and received $5 000 while the winners collected $30 000 and the runners-up $15 000.