By Frederick Halley

TORONTO, Canada – After their disappointment of not reaching the 10/10 final, Mercenary rebounded in emphatic fashion to capture the Paul & Sons-sponsored Division One 15-over final, inflicting a three-wicket loss on Rems when the curtain came down on the Ontario Softball Cricket League (OSCL) tournament at the Ashtonbee playing field last Saturday.
While Mercenary were basking in glory on pitch number two, Carr Tec were also being crowned Division Two champions after recording a convincing 17-run win over Enmore on pitch number one, thereby reversing the 10/10 result when the latter had emerged victorious.

In what was certainly one of the best knockout finals in recent times, the result of the Mercenary/Rems encounter was in doubt until the final delivery of the pulsating game.
Needing to get 13 off the final over, bowled by Anil Mahadeo, the odds were in favour of Rems to add the 15-over title to their collection after their triumph over the GT Bannas in the 10-over final.

However, two fielding mishaps, the first by Krishna Deosaran and the other by Yoodhanlall ‘Squashie’ Sukhlall proved extremely costly, both resulting in boundaries, one coming off the final delivery of the innings with four needed for victory and Andy Persaud being the hero as his flick sped past a helpless Sukhlall at deep backward square-leg.

Consisting mostly of the players who represented Softball Cricket Canada in the recently-concluded Toronto Cup, Mercenary were kept in tight reins for the greater part of their reply to Rems’ 104 for five in their allotted 15 overs, needing 35 in the last three overs.
Aftab Shamsudeen, who was later named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the winning team however made a vital 18 (1×4, 1×6) towards the backend of the innings following a strategic move by Mercenary to let opener Munniram Karran retire out on a painstaking, yet useful 25.
Important knocks also came from Avinash ‘Shines’ Sookdeo 19 (1×6) and Jeetendra Beharry 18 (1×4, 1×6) as Sukhlall ended with two for 17.
Earlier, the consistent Chien Gittens, who was later named Rems MVP, with an unbeaten 28 (2×4, 1×6) led Rems to a competitive 104 for five in their 15 overs with supporting knocks of 16 each coming from Khemraj Harrinarine and Ian ‘Russian’ Baldeo and 15 from skipper Richard Dias.

Satrohan ‘Blade’ Balkarran, who sent ripples through the Rems players and fans with a first ball dismissal of Surujpaul Deosaran, claimed one for 19 while there was also one wicket each for Rabindra Diaram, Amit Rukhram, Shamsudeen and Avinash Sookdeo.
Seeking revenge, after their loss in the 10/10 final, Carr Tec were given a rollicking start of 59 from openers Anil Veerasammy (32) and Avinash Singh (21) with the ultra-aggressive Veerasammy clearing the ropes on four occasions while Singh’s knock contained two fours. Former Guyana youth player Rovendra Mandolall spanked two fours and a six in 30 as Carr Tec reached a challenging 131 for four in their allotted 15 overs.

Bowling for Enmore, another former Guyana youth player Steve Ramdas took two for 15, Abdool Azeez one for 17 and Zakir Mohamed one for 27.

Enmore also started well with skipper Shiv Persaud and Imtiaz Badshaw sharing an opening stand of 48. They were, however, behind the required rate throughout the innings,
MVP Persaud hit a defiant 58 with two fours and four sixes but his effort proved in vain after being dismissed in the final over with his team on 114 for six, still 18 runs away from achieving the knockout ‘double;.

Avinash Singh (2-14), Shazam Baksh (2-14), MVP Mandolall (1-19) and Rakesh Dyal (1-21) were the main wicket-takers,

At the presentation ceremony, OSCL president Albert Ramcharran expressed sincere thanks to Paul & Sons for the sponsorship of the tournament while congratulating all the participating teams. Sponsor Dharam Paul Singh was on hand to present the trophies.
Veteran softball player Terry Mathura, who plays for Carr Tec, has already been a part of three winning championship teams in 2019. Mathura is a member of the Toronto Blizzards who captured the Ontario Masters Softball Cricket Clubs (OMSCC) Over-50 crown. Toronto Blizzards also came out victorious in the same category in the Toronto Cup.