COUNTERPOINT WANDERERS outpaced ESA Field Pickwick at every stage to capture a semi-final place in the Barbados Cricket Association’s 2018 Twenty20 competition.
The first quarter-final, featuring the two oldest clubs in the island, was fought out before a modest crowd at the 3Ws Oval, Cave Hill, on Monday evening and ended in a comfortable 16-run victory for Wanderers.
Winning the toss and electing to bat, Wanderers posted 165 for six and despite a painstaking, unbeaten 61 from West Indies batsman Shai Hope, Pickwick, floundered to be 149 for seven when the overs expired.
Openers Jason “Grassman” Greene and Shayne Moseley launched Wanderers’ innings in spectacular fashion, spanking 111 before former West Indies pacer Tino Best removed both off successive deliveries in the 13th over.
Greene, the main attacker in the partnership,was first to depart. He smacked 66 off 39 balls, including five fours and three sixes and was particularly impressive with a number of superlative drives both through and over the offside field. The dreadlocked right-hander brought up his 50 off 33 balls before the pair raised a century stand in the 11th over bowled by leg-spinner Shadd Simmons that cost 17 runs.
Spirited late innings
Left-hander Moseley, the more sedate partner, struck two fours and two sixes in 39 off 36 balls.
Best (4-17) and fellow seamer Jerome Stuart (2-24) led a spirited late innings bowling effort by Pickwick that saw Wanderers lose four wickets for 38 runs off the last five overs after threatening a total closer to 200.
Shai and older sibling Kyle Hope kept Pickwick’s prospects alive after West Indies captain Jason Holder (3-43) removed Jamal Phillips, but their 61-run partnership took just short of ten overs and, once the latter was caught behind off the bustling medium-pacer Roshon Primus (2-21) for a classy 41 off 31 balls, the threat soon subsided.
Exhilarating shots
The younger Hope, who struggled for timing in the early stages, changed gears towards the end of the innings to play a few exhilarating shots among the four fours and five sixes he stroked, but the 53-ball knock proved to be merely of academic interest.
In the first semi-final on June 11, Wanderers will clash with the winners of tonight’s second quarter-final between Massy Stores Spartan and Barbados Cricket Supplies Barbados Youth at 7 o’clock. (WH)
