Conrad Hunte are shield winners
Carib Conrad Hunte Sports Club are still the kings of junior limitedovers cricket in Barbados
Ezra Stuart
14-Aug-2000
Carib Conrad Hunte Sports Club are still the kings of junior limitedovers cricket in Barbados.
The St. Andrew side retained the Barbados Fire and Commercial Shield
when they defeated challengers Psychiatric Hospital by 24 runs in a
rain-marred final at the Police's Weymouth 'A' ground yesterday.
After making a challenging 201 for nine in 38 overs, Conrad Hunte SC
restricted Psychiatric Hospital, who required a revised target of 144
in 27 overs, to 120 for six.
The match, watched by a crowd of around 2 500, was delicately poised
with the Hospital boys on 93 for three in 21.3 overs, requiring a
further 109 runs in 16.3 overs. But a sharp shower just after 4 p.m.
which stopped play for 35 minutes, ruined the contest.
When play restarted at 4:35 p.m., Psychiatric Hospital were asked to
score 51 runs in 5.3 overs, following calculations from umpires
Sherlock Wall and Andrew Corbin in consultation with match referee
Orson Simpson.
This task proved too great for the first-time finalists as spin
bowlers Lawrence Leacock, with three for 27, and Curtis Forde, two for
24, bowled very tidily, giving up just one boundary.
Psychiatric Hospital's problems were compounded as Conrad Hunte SC
captain Peter Headley wisely spread his fielders around the boundary
line and hard-hitting batsmen Luther Wiltshire and Ricky 'German'
Ramsey were both bowled, attempting big hits off Forde.
Earlier, Conrad Hunte SC, sent in to bat on a placid pitch in sunny
conditions, were given a rousing start by top-order batsmen Rommell
King, Errol Watson and Terry Connell as the 50 was posted in 9.1 overs
and the 100 in the 16th over.
Conrad Hunte seemed on course for a score of around 250 when 16 runs
were taken from the only over from medium-pacer Ramsey and Wiltshire
was roughed up by King and Connell in his first three overs.
Flow of runs
But Wiltshire, after the bad start to his spell, and his experienced
spin partner Hadley Mascoll checked the flow of runs while picking up
key wickets of King, for 27, Connell, for a topscore of 35, and
captain Headley.
Realising spin was proving difficult to get away, Mascoll, leading the
Psychiatric Hospital team in the absence of the injured Karl Greene
and vice-captain Clyde Holder, brought on off-spinner Alfred Alleyne.
Alleyne, with his slow off-breaks, captured three wickets, including
the dangerous DaCosta Atherley, who was stumped for 20, and lefthander Forde for 12.
Fast bowler Ronald Benjamin, however, saw the total past the 200-mark
with an unbeaten knock of 19.
In reply, Psychiatric Hospital, after the early loss of opener Clayton
Murray in the second over, made a spirited challenge, with stylish
opener Ronald Pile and wicket-keeper Roger Burrowes adding 44 runs for
the second wicket.
However, Leacock struck two crucial blows when he removed Burrowes,
who had struck left-arm spinner Connell for a six over mid-wicket, and
allrounder Alleyne, smartly stumped by King down the leg-side.
Pile, who was later named Man-of-the-match by former West Indies
opener Desmond Haynes for his attractive knock of 41, started to
blossom with some elegant cover drives. But Psychiatric's hopes of a
victory disappeared once the shower left them needing to score at tenruns-an-over in the remaining five overs to win.
Afterwards, Headley said teamwork was responsible for his team's
second consecutive Shield success.