Host team St. Maarten secured an emphatic victory over new comers St. Croix, on the final day of the 2018 edition of the Luther SHOT GUN Kelly over 35 tournament.
1 Adam Sandford -MVP of the tournament
It was a day filled with drama and it all started with a lengthy delay, due to a wet pitch. Even when the umpires called play in the first semifinal encounter between St. Croix and Nevis, the Nevis team took the field reluctantly, citing possible endangerment of the players
There were sections of the pitch that fingers were still able to penetrate quite easily.
However, St. Croix won the toss and sent the Nevis team in to bat first.
Merlin Liburd and Junior Mills gave the Nevis team a rollicking start, peppering the boundaries at either end of the Carib Lumbar Ball Park, on a regular basis.
Later after the dismissal of Liburd, Stuart Williams continued the momentum to the end and took Nevis to an impressive 105 for 1 from their 12 overs.
It was soon realized that the runs were just a little short, as Evans and Elliot, both rode their luck well and scored quickly at the top of the innings.
It came down to just 3 runs required from the final over, bowled by Frank Monzac and one resounding straight drive, down the ground, sealed the deal for the first time team.
The other Federation team, St.Kitts, folded quite easily to host team St. Marten, who won the second semifinal encounter, quite easily.
So, it came down to a St. Maarten v St. Croix finals.
St. Maarten batted first and pummeled their way to the tournament’s highest total of 160 for 8 in 15 overs.
St. Croix when they batted, looked only a shadow off the team that beat Nevis in the semifinals. They limped lamely to 78 for 6 from their 15 overs, with only Winston Sutton putting up any real resistance.
Summarized scores:
St. Maarten 160 for 8
B. Shamir 43;
R. Doodnauth 39;
R. Baptiste 23;
Adam Sandford 28
E. Keith 4 for 32;
B. Michael 3 for 24;
G. Evans 1 for 30
St. Croix 78 for 6 in 15 overs
Winston Sutton 39*;
G. Evans 26
Adam Sanford 2 wickets;
Shamir; Ganesh and Ganish 1 wicket each
St. Maarten won by 82 runs
Immediately after the grand finals, chief coordinator of the Tournament, DANGO Farrell, chaired the closing ceremony.
Among the top awards presented were the following:
Champion team –St. Maarten
2nd placed team-St. Croix
3rd placed team-Nevis
Most runs 160-Winston Sutton-St. Croix
Most wickets Ganish Netram-St. Maarten-8
MVP of the tournament-Adam Sandford
The three top players received a 32 inch television set, complements of the Willful Skillful Club.