Newbury Province are the winners of the C. O. Williams/Mitchie Hewitt Champion of Champions Knockout competition.
The 35-overs-a-side final was played yesterday at the Blenheim ‘A’ grounds of the Barbados Cricket League (BCL).
The boys from Sion Hill whipped their northern counterparts, Mahaica by nine wickets with over 20 overs to spare before a good crowd heavily in support of the new champions.
Batting first after losing the toss on a placid batting strip, the 28-year-old Speightstown-based Mahaica, could only muster 100 runs off 24.4 overs.
Newbury Province’s opening bowlers, led by 15-year-old St Leonard’s student Shaquille Turney, who took one for 12 off his seven overs with four maidens, and Rondelle Springer (2/26), put the early brakes on the Mahaica batsmen, who reached 39 for two off the first ten overs.
Antonio Greaves (19) and Royston Butters tried to rescue the innings with a partnership of 26 for the third wicket, but Man Of The Match Leandre Clarke induced Greaves to sky a delivery to deep point, where Leroy Johnson took a simple catch.
After his dismissal, Byron Morris (2/34) and Clarke (3/25) sliced through the innings as the last five wickets fell for 19 runs.
The Newbury Province club, which is celebrating its 40th year of existence, and which won the BCL Super Leagues’ competition last season, raced to the required target off 13.1 overs.
They lost Curtis Inniss who was bowled by Royston Butters in the fourth over with the score on 22 at lunch.
After lunch, Alexander schoolboy Jamar Ifill (29 n.o) and Leroy Johnson (36 n.o) enjoyed the good batting conditions and took 79 off nine overs to secure victory for their side.
