Wolf Warriors through to Open final amidst final round chaos
-Savage into Master’s final
HAVING lost the 2013 final to Trophy Stall by nine wickets, Wolf Warriors have the opportunity to redeem themselves in this year’s final of the Guyana Floodlights Softball Cricket Association’s (GFSCA) ‘Guyana Softball Cup 4’, when they defeated Farm XI by nine wickets in their semifinal matchup yesterday.Batting first, Farm XI, who advanced to the semifinal on a better net run rate ahead of Karibee Boyz and Petama Enterprise, were limited to 85 in 12 overs of the game that was reduced to 15 overs aside due to time constraints.
Shafeek Ishmael topscored with 15 and David Luknauth contributed 11 as Amir Nizamudin took 3 for 10 and Azad Azeez 3 for 11 for Wolf Warriors, who in reply scored 86 for 1 off 9 overs, thanks to Safraz Karim’s unbeaten 35 and 26 not out from Amit Rai, while Ricardo Adams made 12.
In their qualifying matchup against New York All Stars, Petama Enterprise batted first and scored 95 all out with Vickash Dhaniram 21 (2×6), Davendra Deosarran and Ganesh Narine contributing 15 each, while Bobby took 3 for 10 for New York All Stars who in reply were limited to 79 for 9.
Wasim Haslim and Bobby made 13 each while Lionel Persaud took 3 for 15 and Ian Ivan, who bowled with pace and accuracy, 2 for 5, and up to press time Petama Enterprise were engaging Regal XI in the other semifinal under lights at the Demerara Cricket Club ground.
Earlier in the day, Regal XI disposed of Parika Defenders when the two sides met at the Ogle ground, with Parika Defenders batting first and being bowled out for 82 off 100 overs, led by Travis Drakes 22 (3×6) and Surujballi Chitram 12.
Rohit Dutchin took 3 for 16, while there were two wickets each for Balram Roopnarine, Richard Latiff and Fazal Rafiek bowling for Regal XI who scored 84 for 1 off 7.2 overs in reply, thanks to an unbeaten 42 from Dutchin and 13 from Ricky Sargeant.
At the DCC ground, Regal Masters were given their marching orders out of the tournament by Mike’s Wellman in the Master’s Category clash that was also reduced to 15 overs aside due to rain and which saw regal Masters posting 121 all out off 14.4 overs.
Clyde Butts and Lanceford Klass both made 18, with Butts’ innings being unbeaten even as Eon Abel chipped in with 16 and Lyndon Lyght contributed 14, as Lloyd Rooplall took 4 for 19 for Mike’s Wellman, who in reply reached 123 for 3 off 14.3 overs to complete the win by seven wickets.
Lakeram Rooplall topscored with an unbeaten 42 (4×4, 2×6) and S. Persaud contributed 40 (4×4) to the winning total, while there was a wicket each for Raymond Harper and Butts.
In another Master’s clash at the same venue, Ontario Masters defeated defending champion New York Better Hope Masters by 6 runs, with Ontario Masters posting 155 for 7 off their 15 overs, led by 47 (4×6, 3×4) from Jaimini Singh and an unbeaten 29 (3×6) from Desmond Chummily.
Quyaam Farroug took 2 for 19 and Ronald Evelyn 2 for 29 for New York Better Hope, who in reply were restricted to 149 for 7 when their overs expired, with Shameer Sadloo 40 (4×4, 2×6), Asif Ahmad 21 and Eustace Dodson 13 (3×4) leading their batting while R. Parasnauth took 3 for 15 and Parsram Persaud 2 for 31.
And in their Master’s semifinal matchup against Parika Defenders, Savage Masters who won the contest by nine wickets, bowled out Parika Defenders for 93 with R. Rambharose making 18 and A. Karim 11, as Nandalall Seebarran took 4 for 20 and Rudy Samaroo 2 for 19.
In reply, Savage Masters scored 99 for 1 off 10.5 overs to complete the win, thanks to unbeaten knocks of 46 (3×4, 2×6) from Lakeram Barlow and 37 (3×4, 1×6) from Robert Camacho, the duo adding 87 for their unbroken second wicket partnership.
Meanwhile on Friday’s opening day of action, Farm XI’s Lennox Marks chalked up the first ton in the Open category of the tournament as his side defeated Karibee Boyz by 135 runs, with Farm XI scoring 236 for 4 thanks to Marks’ 105 and 35 from Avenash Sukhdeo, to which Karibee Boyz replied with 101 all out, as Shafeek Ishmael took 3 for 15.
Wolf Warriors emulated Regal XI by scoring back to back victories over Dant’s XI of Canada and Corriverton respectively, with Dant’s XI batting first in their first game of the tournament and being bowled out for 142.
S. Deosarran contributed 32 as Vishnu Tamenchandra took 5 for 28 for Wolf Warriors, who reached 146 for 8 off the last ball of their final over, thanks to Safraz Karim’s 64 and against Corriverton; the team from the Ancient County batted first and scored 173 all out in their 20 overs.
Darshan Challitor top scored with 53 against the bowling of Ameer Khan who took 3 for 11 for Wolf Warriors, who in reply scored 174 for 6 off 19.5 overs with Amit Rai topscoring with an unbeaten 36.
In their second game of the day, Dant’s XI defeated Uprisers by four wickets, with Uprisers batting first and posting 176 for 9, led by Christopher Pattadin 62 as Waheid Edwards took 4 for 19 for Dant’s XI who in reply were led by S. Deosarran who topscored with 59 as they reached 177 for 6.
In the Master’s Category, Savage defeated New York President’s XI and New York Seaview in their two matches, Floodlights chalked up back to back victories over Brooklyn Queen’s Legends and Wellman who had earlier defeated South Florida Softball Cricket League (SFSCL) in their first match of the day.
SFSCL later suffered a second defeat at the hands of East Coast Masters, who had lost their first match to Regal Masters, New York Seaview defeated NYSCL Legends, Ontario Softball Int. defeated Orlando Masters and New York Better Hope defeated Orlando Florida.
The final two Masters clashes on Friday’s opening day resulted in victories for Parika Defenders who defeated Ontario Softball Int., but suffered a nine runs defeat at the hands of New York Better Hope, the defending champions in the Master’s category.
(By Calvin Roberts)