Playing with hearts of belief and steel, BRC cricketers bended Windward by 50 runs in a low-scoring final to capture their second Barbados Cricket Association’s Shield title at the 3Ws Oval yesterday.
Captain Adrian Maynard was BRC’s bowling hero with figures of five for 14 in 7.2 impressive overs of left-arm spin as Windward, chasing a modest victory target of 134 runs, gave an inept batting display, capitulating meekly for a paltry 83 in 31.5 overs on a blameless pitch.
It was a belated 30th birthday gift for Man-of-the-Match Maynard as he also contributed a breezy run-a-ball 22 with two sixes and a four after BRC, who were sent in, crashed from the comfort of 95 for three in 20 overs, to 133 all out in 36.5 overs.
Opener Lamar Fergusson batted responsibly as wickets fell around him for BRC’s top score of 53 off 78 balls with four fours before he was unfortunately run out.
“It is definitely a great feeling. We came here with heart and when we got our score on the board we said ‘runs count’ so we just try to work as hard as possible with the score and stick to our strategy,” Maynard told NATIONSPORT after the game.
“I knew the score wasn’t a big total but in finals, pressure plays a part and once we got the early wickets, they gave us the opportunity to come and win the game as we wanted it more than them,” added the former Barbados Under-19 all-rounder.
Slippery fast-medium bowler Kurwyn Selman also played his part by taking two wickets for 24, while old-stager Colin “Moody” Small chipped in with two for nine from six clever overs of slow-medium bowling for the team from Content, St Thomas.
Selman jolted Windward, who also lost last year’s final to Psychiatric Hospital and raised BRC’s hopes when he took the key scalp of former Barbados and West Indies opener Dale Richards for just two in the first over.
Richards, favouring a knee injury, top-edged a pull off the second ball of the innings from Selman to wicket-keeper Anthony Rollins.
Selman also trapped Windward’s captain Alan Branch leg-before-wicket for four while Maynard bowled Sean Thornton for six with his second ball.
In the next over, opener Mark Edghill played on to the gentle off-spin of Fergusson for a patient 11 off 36 balls.
Windward slipped into further trouble when Raymond Thornton, pushing forward, was stumped by Rollins for a “duck”.
Their woes continued as Kareem Currency fell for six, hitting a full toss for Maynard to take a sharp return catch to his right.
After adding 26 runs for the seventh wicket with Pierre Ashby, left-hander Kareem Knight was superbly caught one-handed by Lorenzo Garraway, running around to his right inside the long-off boundary.
The Small-Garraway combination also accounted for Shae Branch, whose lofted hit was easily taken at long-on, while Maynard wrapped up the innings by bowling Ashby for 15 off 51 balls and last man Jewaun Cumberbatch after switching to the southern end.
Earlier, BRC lost veteran Arnold Gilkes, who led the team to their first triumph in 1998, for eight as he edged off-spinner Shae Branch to wicket-keeper Currency.
Durwyn Selman made just three and key batsman Rollins fell for just ten. But from 48 for three, Maynard and 22-year-old Fergusson, a former Frederick Smith schoolboy, revived the innings with a 49-run partnership.
Once Maynard lofted a simple catch to Bynoe off Sean Thornton at 97 for four, BRC’s innings’ went downhill as the last six wickets fell for 36 runs to Windward’s four-pronged spin attack.
Garraway sliced a full toss from Sean Thornton straight to Raymond Thornton at point, while Small edged a cut at an off break from Ashby into Currency’s gloves.
After reaching his 50, non-striker Fergusson ill-advisedly accepted a call from his partner Rico Hinds, for a suicidal single to short square-leg and was well short of his ground when Currency broke the stumps.
Hinds was then trapped leg-before-wicket in Ashby’s next over for four while Josh Yearwood (3) was caught by Allan Branch at short extra cover, and leg-spinner Knight returned to remove last man Kurwyn Selman. (EZS)
