By Frederick Halley

DESPITE a few minor hiccups, President of the Georgetown Softball Cricket League (GSCL) Inc, Ian John, has deemed the staging of the eighth edition of the Prime Minister’s T20 Cup softball tournament highly successful and was loud in praise for the several sponsors who came on board and the media for the excellent coverage.

“On behalf of the GSCL Inc., I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the sponsors for their generous contribution to the staging of the tournament and also to the Office of the Prime Minister and the Department of Culture, Youth and Sport for their contribution, John pointed out.

John was however very critical of teams who failed to show up on the second day of the tournament, after losing both of their games on the opening day, pointing out that the league is exploring ways to deal with these situations in more condign ways. He pointed out that stringent measures are being contemplated in the future.

John admitted that, based on the current playing conditions and the format agreed to in the draw, the GSCL found itself in an awkward position to deal with the issues that arose. He however apologised to the teams, GTA Storm and Regal Masters, who were severely affected.

Seemingly in an excellent position to qualify for the semi-finals, after winning both of their games convincingly on day one, Canada’s GTA Storm were booted out of the Legends Over-50 category after opponents Aash Décor failed to show up on the second day. At that stage, Regal Legends and eventual winner, Jai Hind, the other two teams in contention, also had two wins. While the walkover served as a win for the Canadian-based team, their net run rate didn’t improve, causing their elimination.

Regal Masters also needed a win to boost its net run rate but Softball Cricket Canada (SCC) was the other “culprit,” who robbed them of any chance of advancing.

A significant plus in this year’s tournament was the increase in the number of women’s teams which rose from eight last year to 12 this year. The category also saw the crowning of a new champion in Supreme Stars, hailing from Linden.

The girls from the mining town ensured that the reign of two-time winners 4 R Lions came to a screeching halt, winning a close semi-final by four runs at the Gandhi Youth Organisation (GYO) ground before whipping Berbice’s Number 64 Knight Riders by 26 runs in the final, played at the Police Sports Club ground, Eve Leary.

Supreme Stars’ Marissa Rodney starred in the semi-final with a brilliant even century, the only one registered in the category. The left-hander’s belligerent knock was decorated with six fours and eight sixes.

Melissa Daniels, who had a fine all-round performance in the final was adjudged the player of the final while Jenefa Kewley claimed the Most Valuable Player (MVP) prize, an air fryer, donated by Regal Stationery and Computer Centre. Daniels collected a trophy.

On a bright note, as far as the women’s category is concerned, John said he’s confident that more women teams will be attracted to future tournaments and they have already been added to the upcoming second annual Vice-president tournament, set to be staged on the weekend of November 8-10.

The All Stars Open category saw Speedboat dethroning three-time champion, Ariel Knight Riders.. New champions were also crowned in the Masters Over-40 and Legends Over-50 divisions with Ariel Masters defeating Fisherman Masters in the former and Berbice’s Jai Hind winning from defending champions Regal Legends. It also marked the first time in the eight-year staging of the tournament that Regal Legends did not emerge winners.

John also took the opportunity to recognise the several sponsors, which included Cricket Equipment Guyana, Superbet, Crown Mining Supplies, Regal Stationery and Computer Centre, Banks DIH Limited, Premier Insurance, General Marine, Trophy Stall, Guyana Drones, Rajiv Gandhi University, Krishna Balram Printery, Cricket Zone USA, Danny Persaud (Youtuber), Pro Signs, I&S Trading, T&T Mega Movers, Tourism Guyana, Reliance Services, Andy & Amrit Furniture Store, P&P Insurance Brokers, Chung’s Global Enterprise, Freelancer Ad Agency, Price Chopper, Ofimak Office, HL Latino, Mays, Beifa and Dyna’s Embroidery.