By Frederick Halley

TORONTO, Canada – In 2014, Dant entered the Ontario Softball Cricket League (OSCL) and made an instant and unprecedented impact, winning all the major titles at stake in the Conference A, a feat never before achieved in the history of the league.Entering last year obviously a confident bunch, Dant however found the going tough and were forced to wait until the final day of the season to cart off the Champion of Champions trophy with a thumping win over archrivals Caribbean Sensation who had previously defeated them in the Conference final.
Undaunted by their performances in the 2015 season, which also included defeat at the hands of New York Enforcers in the Toronto Cup final, Dant came out with renewed vigour this year and have been unbeaten to date in all three tournaments (10/10, 15-over and the 20-over regular season) and look set to capture all three like they did in their debut season.
The first attempt will be made on Saturday when Dant oppose Better Hope in the Caribbean Sensation-sponsored 10/10 final, set for the Ashtonbee ground, Scarborough, starting at 09:00hrs.
The final also forms part of the OSCL annual Family Day and will also see defending champions Caribbean Sensation battle with East Coast in the Consolation final.
On their way to the final, Dant got past top teams Caribbean Sensation, the much-vaunted Rems and Sunshine in last Saturday’s semi-final and should start as firm favourites to stop Better Hope in their tracks in the tournament which was played with white balls last season but has since reverted to Supreme.
Led by former Berbice player Loaknauth Ramsuchit, Dant include the likes of vice-captain and opener Hemnarine Chattergoon, the hard-hitting Damodar Daesrath, Shaun Deonandan and Riaz Kadir while the evergreen Satrohan ‘Blade’ Balkarran lead the bowling attack. The return of Aftab ‘Maxie’ Shamshudeen after a self-imposed exile, has also helped to bolster the batting and bowling.
Not to be outdone, the Better Hope players are confident they are capable of upstaging their opponents. Skipper Sunil ‘Skadachie’ Ramkissoon, who is expected to play a major role with both bat and ball, has been very consistent during the season and will be hoping that form continues on Saturday.
Better Hope will also depend heavily on batters Amernauth Sukhoo, Amit Arjun, Suresh Persaud and Jairam Ramoutar with Gavin Singh and Shamir Latif playing key roles in the bowling department.
Meanwhile, in last Saturday’s semi-final, played at Glenobles Public School ground, Dant defeated Sunshine by 23 runs in a high-scoring game.
Winning the toss and taking first strike, Dant reached a challenging 114 for five in their allotted 10 overs with Chattergoon leading the way with an aggressive 30 which included three sixes and two fours. Daesrath (17), Ramsuchit (17) and Deonandan (15) supported with useful contributions. Avinash Sukhdeo claimed two for six from two overs.
Sunshine, in reply, were restricted to 91 for five when their overs expired with Anil Etwaroo clobbering three sixes in a top score of 26 while Imran Khan made 17. Shamshudeen grabbed two for nine in his two overs.
The Consolation final between Caribbean Sensation and East Coast has also evoked much interest with both teams looking to salvage some pride following their exit from the main draw.