IT was nothing but hard work and a touch of class for the men of the Speedboat XI,, who stunned the Regal All-Stars to win the Open Category of the Guyana Softball Cup 6 on Sunday.
The match, which was played at the Demerara Cricket Club ground,embodied the excitement

fans had come to expect over the years from the tournament.
Regal-All Stars batted first and were bowled out for 172 with one ball left in the final over of their innings. For the Regal Side, losing wickets at crucial moments proved disastrous.
They lost opener Richard Latif who was run out for 5 early on and despite recovering to 94-3 in 10 overs they only managed to score 78 runs in the last 10 overs for the loss of 7 wickets.
For Speedboat,Kishore Smith was simply phenomenal with the ball. He had three wickets in the twelfth over that caused Regal to tumble from 109-3 to 111-6.
Regal’s Sachin Singh produced a cameo 31 to help his side to a competitive total before he and the rest of his team were sent back into the dressing room.
It was then Speedboat’s turn to chase and they were brimming with confidence as they seemed up to the challenge.
However,Regal showed some fight by claiming 5 wickets for 100 runs off 11 overs. It was at this point that the left/right combination of Wazir Hussain and Travis Drakes showed their class for speedboat.
The pair put together a 73-run partnership in seven overs in a batting display that belonged to the international stage.
Hussain played a masterful innings finishing with an unbeaten 45 while beating the ball for five sixes. Drakes finished with 37 which included two huge sixes which reduced the run chase from 21 off 18 to 9 off 16 in the eighteenth over. His innings also included two fours. However,it was Hussain’s 45 that saw him taking home the Man- of- the- Match award.
At the presentation ceremony,Speedboat XI collected the $800,000 first prize and trophy while Floodlights received $600,000 and trophy,all compliments of the Trophy Stall.
Jagdesh Persaud was named MVP of the Masters competition for his two hundreds in the preliminary games while Amrit Rai received the award in the Open division. They each received a sparkling gold cricket bat pendant, accentuated with diamond studs, sponsored by Steve’s Jewellery.
The three-day competition was sponsored by Stag Beer, Rubis Guyana, Trophy Stall, Survival Group of Business, Steve’s Jewellery, Clear Waters, Busta Soft Drinks, Rohan Auto Spares, A&R Jewanram Printery, WJ Enterprise and Mike’s Pharmacy, and organised by the Guyana Floodlights Softball Cricket Association.