Thrice was nice, but four – Sagicor UWI couldn’t have asked for more.
The kings of cricket in Barbados have done it again.
Sagicor UWI captured their fourth consecutive top flight title and the first ever Barbados Cricket Association LIME Elite Division Championship yesterday when they romped to a an innings 136 run win over Republic Bank St Catherine at Bayfield yesterday.
The win assured the defending champions of the 2012 title with their current total of 135 points – out of the reach of second placed Empire who are 40 points behind.
After being crowned Division 1 champions in 2009, 2010 and 2011, the defending champions created history by becoming the first team to win the newly renamed Elite Division, after the BCA opted for a name change prior to the beginning of the new season.
They did so in emphatic fashion too, copping the coveted title with one round of matches still to be played.
And according to team captain Omar Phillips, their dominance on the local scene can be narrowed down to two major factors – hard work and dedication.
“I am feeling quite happy about our latest accomplishment, but it all comes down to hard work, dedication, and how badly you want to win,” Phillips told NATIONSPORT in an interview shortly after UWI had completed victory yesterday.
“As the defending champions we came into this season confident, but nothing comes easy. We still had to work extremely hard to achieve our goal.
“We played hard and as a unit, and the fact that we have won with one round still to play speaks volumes about this team’s work ethic and how driven we have been from the beginning of the season,” he maintained.
Former West Indies captain and player/coach, Floyd Reifer also credited his team’s exemplary attitude as one of the driving forces behind their success.
He said that setting high standards and goals for themselves along with an added determination to succeed has been the side’s hallmark throughout the season.
“It’s a great feeling to come out on top again. But what has kept us so focused during the season has been our ability to constantly challenge ourselves,” Reifer said.
“We set goals from the start of the season to help develop our skills and our game.
“We have some young guys on the team who are hungry to improve and hungry for success, and once they maintain that hunger, we will continue to be a force in local cricket.”
At the age of 40, the evergreen Reifer, whose knock of 112 led his team to victory, pointed out that he had no intentions of retiring from cricket just yet.
In fact, he said that he still felt that he had a couple more years left in the tank.
“I’m still feeling really good and fit. I’m still practicing three to four times a week and I don’t think that I am yet to that point where I am a liability to the team.
“I am still playing good cricket and when the team needs runs I can still go out there and make a score, so it’s safe to say that I will be around for the next few years,” Reifer said with a smile on his face.
