High-flying Blackbirds

UWI Blackbirds flew away with the crown in the University of the West Indies/Barbados Cricket Association Inter-Parish Twenty20 competition, humbling the star-studded St James Settlers by 50 runs on Duckworth/Lewis method in the final on Saturday night at the 3Ws Oval.

After winning the toss, the host team accumulated a competitive 142 for four from their allotment of overs before holding the Settlers, including the like of Barbados Pride and West Indies ‘A’ team captain Shamarh Brooks, West Indies all-rounder Raymon Reifer and Kyle Mayers, a member of Brooks’ Windies “A” team, to 88 for nine off 15 overs.

A partnership of exactly 100 for the second wicket between Jonathan Carter and skipper Nicholas Kirton proved to be the backbone of UWI’s innings, with the former smacking five fours and a six in making 59 off 47 balls and the latter 37 at a run a ball.

By the time a heavy drizzle swept across the ground, the Settlers had already fallen out of contention, having been reduced to 60 for seven off 13 overs.

The interruption eventually resulted in the loss of five overs and left the St James side requiring a near impossible 60 runs from two overs with three wickets remaining.

Off-spinner Raymond Bynoe, who had already claimed two wickets in an earlier spell, returned to remove two more Settlers’ batsmen and complete figures of four wickets for 21 runs.

Left-handed Carter flayed the Settlers’ bowlers all around the wicket in his entertaining knock, but was fortunate to benefit by two missed chances, first on 27 and later on 41; Javed Leacock being the culprit on both occasions off the bowling of Akeal Hosein and Mayers respectively. The more sedate Kirton faced 36 balls and struck two boundaries and a “maximum”.

Brooks, opening the batting, got the chase going in spectacular fashion, launching medium-pacer Aaron Daley beyond the wide long-on boundary for six and then elegantly flicking the next delivery over square-leg for another. His stay was all too brief however, for in the next over he got a leading edge to present spinner Kavem Hodge with a simple return catch.

Bynoe’s first two wickets came off successive balls with the score 31 for four, a position from which there would be no recovery. (WH)