The ongoing Leewards Islands Masters Cricket tournament, continue to create much excitement in Antigua.
After two days of intense competition, it has come down to the four top teams and the semifinals will be played at the two grounds of choice in Liberta and All Saints, starting at 9 am today.
Nevis will engage St. Thomas
St. Kitts will take on Antigua and Barbuda
Some of the outstanding features of the tournament so far, include the following:
Nevis has officially recorded the largest contingent to ever attend the tournament in its 22 year history.
The contingent comprises of some 43 individuals, which includes players and supporters.
You can well imagine the headache that the selectors experienced in selecting the eleven for the first match on Friday.
Subsequent selections would become easier due to the usual injuries and failures etc.
Also of note, is that in the case of Antigua and Barbuda and St. Kitts especially, they have opted for a much younger crop of Masters’ cricketers this year and are certainly making a stronger bid for championship honours.
In the case of St. Kitts, they are fielding players of the caliber of Junie Mitchum; Jason Saddler; Greg Stanley, among others and in the case of the host country, Wilden Cornwall, Sylvester Joseph, Greg Skepple and Anthony Lake, are some of the more recent national players who are making their impact in the tournament.
Here are some of the scores from the preliminary games:
Nevis v St. Maarten
St. Maarten 132 for 7 in 20 overs:
P. Edwards 34;
L. Baptiste 24*;
Dango Farrell 15
Derrick parry 3 for 20;
Virgil Browne 2 for 39;
Wendell Wallace 1 for 8;
Nevis 136 for 3 from 17.4 overs:
Ardie liburd 56*;
Merlin Liburd 43;
Stuart Williams 21;
Carl Tuckett 6*
Montlouis; Farrell and George 1 wicket each
Nevis won by 7 wickets
Antigua /Barbuda v St. Maarten
St. Maarten 150 for 9 in 20 overs:
Dango Farrell 32;
Christopher 26;
Baptiste 22
I. Gore 3 for 30;
Sylvester Joseph 2 for 27;
Lake, Williams, Smith and Harilall 1 wicket each
Antigua 151 for 5 in 18 overs:
Wilden Cornwall 36;
R. Phillip 34;
Anthony Lake 20;
Greg Skepple 16
Dango Farrell 2 for 14;
O. Natram 2 for 23;
A. Christopher 1 for 20
Nevis v Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda 175 for 8 from 20 overs:
Derrick Parry; Patrick Newton and Wendell Wallace 2 wickets each
Nevis 152 for 6 from 20 overs:
Carl Tuckett 55;
Stuart Williams 51
Antigua and Barbuda won by 23 runs
St. Thomas v St. Kitts
St. Thomas 130 for 8 from 20 overs:
Earl Waldron 34;
C. Joseph 33;
N. Lewis 17*
Jason Saddler 4 for 12
St. Kitts 119 for 9:
Bernard Island 43;
Junie Mitchum 37;
Greg Stanley 13
Earl Waldron 4 for 16; N.
Lewis 2 for 21;
D. Edwards 2 for 25
St. Thomas won by 11 runs
St. Kitts v St. Croix
St. Kitts 192 for 4 from 20 overs:
Jason Saddler 52*;
Bernard Island 52;
Junie Mitchum 36;
Phillip Webbe 19
Dale Western 4 for 39
St. Croix 175 for 9 from 20 overs:
S. Evans 46;
E. Meade 46;
Vitals 40
Junie Mitchum 3 for 26;
A. Hendrickson 3 for 31;
Kevin Hanley 2 for 29
St. Kitts won by 17 runs
St. Croix v St. Thomas (match reduced to 10 overs)
St. Croix 100 in 10 overs:
S. Evans 48;
Clifford Walwyn 21;
E. Meade 13
N. Lewis 4 for 17
St. Thomas 101 for 2
Edwards 46;
N. Lewis 31*;
Earl Waldron 16
St. Kitts v Anguilla
St. Kitts defeated Anguilla by 87 runs in a 10 overs a side game
For St. Kitts, Phillip Webbe slammed 72 and Greg Stanley 60*
Jason Saddler 16*
For Anguilla: Alex Adams 18; Andrew Herbert 17* C. Rogers 9