WI local: History beckons Fire Cup finalists

There is extra incentive for the teams in today's Barbados Fire & Commercial Cup final.

Stansfeld Scott Police, still celebrating the capture of their second successive Division 1 championship, are seeking to become only the fourth team in 25 years to complete a treasured "double".

Cable & Wireless BET, arguably the most exciting limited-overs team in the country, are going after their first Cup success to add to the many Shield titles they won as an Intermediate team.

As the countdown begins to the 11 a.m. start at Kensington Oval, the teams are speaking with confidence while showing respect for the other.

Skipper Leslie Reifer, on what he insists is his farewell domestic appearance at this level, says Police want dearly to emulate the feats achieved by Banks in 1976, Spartan in 1990 and Empire in 1993, all three winning the League and Cup competitions in the same season.

"There is a big incentive to go after the double. We were a bit relaxed in the last Division 1 game against Pickwick. Now we have reached the final, I am sure we will not relax any longer," he said.

His counterpart, Brian Johnson, says BET want to prove their mettle after a disappointing time in the longer version of the game this year.

"We have done poorly in the three-day competition and this is one way of showing people we are a top team," he told SUNSPORT.

"The guys seem more into the one-day game. They seem to realise that once you lose, you're out and they've been putting more into the knockout than the three-day game."

Police, champions in 1991 and 1994, are playing in their fourth final with the knowledge that BET's line-up includes some of most gifted players in the island.

But while Reifer does not dismiss the 1996 runners-up, he reckons Police are the superior side.

"BET are very strong in batting, but if you look at their bowling, it is not that strong," he said. "I believe we have an excellent chance of toppling them."

On the road to the Oval, both sides bowled splendidly for the most part, with two seasoned medium-pacers, Police's Kenrick Marshall and BET's Leibert Holder, being the most outstanding.

BET, however, will be set back by the absence of Holder, who sustained a serious injury on the final day of the Division 1 competition yesterday.

Neither side chased big totals with the exception of the semifinal in which BET surpassed St. Catherine's 202 for the loss of just three wickets.

"Our strength lies in our bowling," Reifer said.

"The batting hasn't clicked yet for the season, but I expect it to click at some point. It will be good if it can click in the final."

It was somewhat of a surprise that a batting order with the likes of the aggressive Proverbs brothers, Stanton and Ahmed, along with Reifer, and the all-round capabilities of Marshall, Alvin Campbell and Sylvester Louis was restricted to totals of 148 against St. John Cultural and 117 against Carlton in the semifinals.

BET, however, never had such problems with runs coming consistently from solid opener Rommel Brathwaite, and Barbados caps Floyd Reifer and Antonio Mayers.

Johnson, Courtney Browne, the explosive Ron Bates and big-hitters Anthony Morris and Lonelle Hutson give further depth to the batting.

"We have all-round strength. Our bowling has been able to restrict teams to fewer than 150. Only St. Catherine got over 200 and we were able to get those runs easily," he said.

"Our batting let us down in the three-day competition, but recently, it has been improving with every match."

He warned, however, that Police could not be under-estimated.