AT LAST, some silverware has gone to the Pine Basin cricketers.
And Ince Transport MTW are finally celebrating as Sagicor General Shield champions.
After being runners-up in 2001, 2007 and 2008, MTW milked Pine Hill Dairy St John Cultural by 28 runs in a rain-shortened final at the Desmond Haynes Oval yesterday to lift the Shield for the first time and take home the first prize of $8 000.
Batting first after winning the toss, MTW, behind a half-century from Man Of The Match Raymond Kellman, made a challenging 169 for six in 26 overs and then restricted St John Cultural to 141 for nine in 26 overs.
Superb catch
Veteran left-arm spinner Denis “Pemmy” Payne took four for 27 and held a superb one-handed slip catch to remove Kyle Franklin off leg-spinner Junior Holder.
Holder then held a return catch to get rid of former Banks’ captain Lewis Spooner for a first-ball “duck”; and the match shifted firmly MTW’s way when Barbados’ Under-19 batsman Anthony Alleyne was out for 35 off 32 balls.
Alleyne, drafted into the St John Cultural team after returning home for a brief holiday from his cricket scholarship at Dulwich College in England, was caught on the mid-wicket boundary off a full toss from Payne, leaving St John Cultural in strife on 82 for five.
It got worse two balls later at 83 for six when a slogging Richard Young was swiftly stumped by Jamel Kirton.
And even though the diminutive Shane Howard tried his best, busily gathering 40 off 43 balls with three fours, “Culture” were truly conquered, long before he suicidically ran himself out in the final over.
The match, watched by a crowd of nearly 3 000, had been reduced to 26 overs per innings after rain stopped play at 11:24 a.m. with MTW on 68 for two in 12.5 overs.
Eric Batson gave MTW a breezy start, savagely hitting left-arm seamer Marlon Knight for three fours before the bowler had the last laugh, bowling him.
But Ariel Forde maintained the tempo, hitting four fours in a cameo 24 off 26 balls before he was stumped when play resumed after the 140-minute rain stoppage.
MTW quickly made up for lost time, lashing 101 runs in the remaining 13.1 overs. Kellman, who had to be lifted off the field at the break after colliding with bowler Kemar Craigg, led the way with a measured 52 off 42 balls, including four fours.
Badly dropped on 32 by Howard at long-on off Craigg, Kellman shared an important 53-run partnership with his captain Curtis Greene, who made 35 off only 26 deliveries with four fours.
The pair capitalised on St John Cultural’s decision to use the off-spin pair of Craigg and Alleyne when play resumed on a damp outfield.
It took the first ball from pacer Damien Sealy, belatedly introduced to remove Kellman, who hooked a bouncer into Frank Skeete’s hands at long leg.
But Greene, mourning the loss of his younger brother Amon the night before in a vehicular accident, continued to score freely, helping MTW post what turned out to be an unbeatable total.
“It is a great feeling. We are ecstatic. The boys put in a big performance today,” winning captain Greene said amid celebrations by players and fans.
“We practised hard the whole season. Even when the rain affected us, we used the UWI nets to practise and in the end, the hard work paid off.”
