By Frederick Halley

REGAL made a clean sweep of all the major prizes when the presentation for the third edition of the Prime Minister T20 Softball Cup took place at the Everest Cricket Club ground, Camp Road, Georgetown on Sunday night following the completion of the tournament.

After winning both the inaugural Legends Over-50 and Masters Over-45 with victories over New York President’s XI and Mike’s Wellman respectively, Regal were already assured of $800,000; $500,000 from the former and another $300,000 from the latter.

Runners-up New York President’s XI and Mike’s Wellman took home $100-000 each. All the teams were also recipients of trophies while the players of the winning sides got medals.

In addition, all three Most Valuable Players (MVPs) were members of Regal: Skipper Mahendra Hardyal in the Legends category, Ramesh Deonarine (Masters) and Sachin Singh (Open).

Hardyal “rode” away with the Hero motorcycle, compliments of Rose Ramdehol, while Deonarine and Singh collected television sets, donated by Regal Stationery and Office Supplies. All the MVPs also received bats from Hafeez Ali, owner of Regal.

The man-of-the-match for both the Legends and Masters categories went to Regal’s Veerapen Moonsammy and Deonarine respectively; their awards being $10,000 and a trophy each.

The tournament, which saw three days of action-packed and entertaining cricket, however, suffered a setback with the organisers forced to abandon the Open final. Set to be played under floodlights for the first time, the lights proved inadequate with the umpires complaining that they weren’t able to see.

Following a few stoppages, which started when the women’s feature game was in progress, the organisers made valiant efforts to ensure the Open game could be completed but, after it eventually started, some of the lights malfunctioned. At that stage, SVC Grill Masters, who were asked to take first strike, were 57 without loss in the seventh over.

According to an official from the Georgetown Softball Cricket League (GSCL), organisers of the tournament, the entity intends to examine the possibility of ensuring all matches are completed during daylight while still maintaining all three categories in the prestigious tournament.

At the presentation ceremony, both Prime Minister (acting) Khemraj Ramjattan and GSCL president, Ian John, apologised to the players and spectators for the hiccup.

Ramjattan assured the organisers that government will continue its support for the tournament and commended them for the introduction of a women’s game. He described the tournament as being “wonderful” while congratulating the respective winners and participating teams.

John also acknowledged that the tournament was a success while acknowledging the mishap with the lights. He lauded the participation of the 26 teams while extolling the winners for their sterling efforts.