-Fishermen Masters, Regal Legends retain titles
Ariel All-Stars were crowned Open champions while Fishermen Masters and Regal Legends retained their titles as the fifth Georgetown Softball Cricket League Incorporated (GSCL) Prime Minister’s Cup ended at the National Stadium, Providence last night.
Ariel defeated Regal by eight wickets after chasing down 130 in front of a small but boisterous crowd.
Ariel won the toss and inserted Regal who limped to 129 all out from their full quota despite a rocketing start. Ariel then coasted to 133 for two in 11.2 overs.
An even 50 not out from Shauz Grovesnor (5×4, 2×6) combined with Brian Mangar’s 40 (5×6, 1×4) laid the platform for Quintin Sampson (25 not out) to come and strike four sixes to seal the victory.
Earlier, Patrick Rooplall struck two fours and two sixes as he raced to 31 to see Regal powering to 53 without loss after four overs.
However, when Sampson was introduced, the opening partnership of 65 was broken as Sachin Singh departed for 23.
Sampson worked his way through the top order including back-to-back wickets to remove dangermen, Rooplall and Chein Gittens to end with three wickets for seven runs.
Jonathan Fernandes then routed the lower order, finishing with 4-24. Fazal Rafeek (14) and Richard Latiff (13) were the only other batsmen to reach double figures.
Earlier in the day, action in the Masters category saw Fishermen beating Ariel by 22 runs toretain their Over-45 title.
Fishermen were asked to bat and sailed to 169 for two from their allotted overs before dismissing Ariel for 147 in 18.2 overs.
Man-of-the-Final, Troy Ramsaywack, led from the front with a boundary-filled 74 not out from 53 balls. The right hander struck 11 boundaries while adding 80 for the opening partnership with Ramo Malone. Malone played the supporting role with a 28-ball 38, laced with four fours and a six.
Ramsaywack continued his push with Jagdesh Persaud who made 37, the duo adding 86 for the second wicket before Persaud was run out.
In the chase, Stanley Mohabir stifled the Ariel batsmen with figures of 3-16 while Malone returned to take 2-30.
Keith Fraser kept Fishermen on their toes, hitting four fours and four sixes on his way to 52 before he tried a reverse sweep only to be caught at point by Dennis Mangru off of Malone.
Arjune Deroop (27 not out), Sheldon Pearch (19) and Manoj Arjune (13) all had cameos but could not see Ariel to victory.
Winning captain, Zameer Hassan credited a good performance from their top order for the victory but said that it was when Fraser fell, that he felt safe.
Fraser was adjudged the Most Valuable Player for the second time.
Meanwhile, Regal Legends completed their third title win, making them the only team to win this category since it was introduced back in 2019.
Regal won the toss and opted to take first strike as the lights faded and piled on 171 for six in their 20 overs. A comprehensive bowling effort by Regal then saw them skittling Wellman for 79 in 17.2 overs for Regal to win by 92 runs.
Ramesh Deonarine piloted Regal with a 29-ball 43, decorated by three fours and one six while Most Valuable Player of the category, Unnis Yusuf and Rudolph Baker supported with 35 and 24 runs respectively. Despite a sloppy showing in the field by Wellman, which was underscored by four missed chances, Lloyd Rooplall (2-26) and Jiant Lall (2-32) got among the wickets.
Wellman were rocked by Man-of-theMatch, Eric Thomas’s 5-17 as only Wayne Jones (26) and Nandgam Samlall (15) reached double figures.
Anil Hardyal, skipper of Regal said, “At the start of the tournament we spoke about experienced players and we actually included Sunil Dhaniram, he came from Canada. Once we execute what we know well, certainly when the dust settled at the National Stadium this afternoon, we would come out successful.”
