… Kingston slams boundary-studded century

By Frederick Halley
THE 16th edition of the South Florida Softball Cricket League (SFSCL) three-day tournament was scheduled to climax yesterday at the picturesque Brian Piccolo Park with finals in all three categories – All Stars Open, Masters Over-40 and Legends Over-50.

The stage was set for a return confrontation featuring Regal Legends and Toronto Blizzards after both emerged victorious in their semi-final encounters in contrasting fashions – Regal Legends trouncing Marine Masters by nine wickets in a lopsided affair and Toronto Blizzards defeating Orlando Legends by 15 runs.

Regal Masters were also seeking to make it a double for the Guyana-based club and were down to face off with Corriverton Masters after turning back the challenge of Softball Cricket Canada (SCC), following Samuel Kingston’s boundary-studded 106.

Set a meagre 90 for victory after limiting their opponents to 89 all out in 18.5 overs, Regal Legends rushed to the required score in a mere six overs, losing one wicket in the process to win by nine wickets.
It was again the Ramesh Deonarine show as the Essequibian clobbered six fours and five sixes in an unbeaten 57 while opener Uniss Yusuf was left undefeated on 24 which contained five fours. The two shared an unbeaten second partnership of 86, following the early departure of skipper Mahendra Hardyal with just four runs on the board in the second over.

Earlier, Marine Masters innings never got going as wickets tumbled at regular intervals. The consistent Laurie Singh was again among the wickets with four for 19, following the early inroads by Parsram Persaud (two for 19).
The other semi-final, played on the adjoining field, saw Toronto Blizzards rattle up 180 for five in the allotted 50 overs with Mohan Harihar spanking two fours and four sixes in an undefeated 52 while Desmond Chumney hit a quick-fire 45 with two fours and five sixes.

Orlando Legends could muster only 165 for six in return, despite a spirited effort, led by opener Motiram Singh who hit a top score of 40 which included three fours and a six.
Chumney returned to bag three for 29 from his four overs while there were two wickets each for Jesh Parasnauth and Fazil Rasool for 22 and 32 runs respectively.

Regal Legends had earlier maintained their unbeaten run in the tournament with a seven-wicket win over Orlando Legends in their final preliminary round match at the same venue while Toronto Blizzards won from Wellman whose decision to play was quite commendable after the sudden demise of owner Lakhram ‘Mike’ Singh the previous night.

Set a paltry 94 for victory, after Orlando Legends reached 93 for seven, Regal Legends got to the target in 12.1 overs with Eric Thomas (28 not out) and Uniss Yusuf (22) being the principal scorers.
The chief wicket-takers for Regal Legends were Deonarine with three for 18 and Singh two for 11.

In what was a must-win encounter for both teams, in order to qualify for the semi-finals, Toronto Blizzards got the better of Wellman by 13 runs. Chasing a victory target of 166, Wellman huffed and puffed their way to 152 for seven when their 20 overs expired. Skipper Wayne Jones hit a top score of 38 with three fours and two sixes while Jagdesh Persaud supported with 31 (four fours and two sixes).

Harihar was again among the runs for Toronto Blizzards, striking four fours and two sixes in his 40. Peter Persaud took three for 37, Khemraj Sumair two for 16 and Jagdesh Persaud two for 32.

In an astonishing display of power-hitting at the Miramar Regional ground, Kingston blasted the SCC bowlers to all parts of the outfield and beyond, smashing three fours and 13 huge sixes as Regal Masters reached a commanding 209 for six in their 20 overs. The last 10 overs in the innings yielded 140 runs.

SCC were 156 for nine after their 20 overs, losing by 53 runs with Tyrone Sanasie grabbing three for 31, Lakeram Roopnarine two for 19 and Chien Gittens two for 23.

A one-minute silence was observed by all the players and officials prior to the start of Friday’s matches in honour of Lakhram ‘Mike’ Singh, who died suddenly the previous night, reportedly from a massive heart attack.