BELIZE CITY, Thurs. June 27, 2019– Blessings on all you cricket players and lovers of the sport! Under the auspices of the Belize National Cricket Association (BNCA), the Barry Bowen/ Harrison Parks 2019 Cricket Competition continued with the playoffs over the weekend.
Before going any further, let me inform you that the President of the BNCA and its governing body send their most sincere condolences to the family and friends on the sudden passing of their loved one, CYRIL “BOB” THOMPSON, who met his death due to a freak accident. Bob, as he was affectionately known, was one of the founding members of Summer Fever Cricket Club. He was an all-rounder, but a master with his bat. He was a well-mannered guy, as far as we knew him. During his time of playing, I remembered that I bowled him once with the first ball on Western Eagles’ grounds. There is much more to be mentioned about him, but that’s left for other friends and families to do. With that said, let’s proceed with our sport report.
On Saturday at Landing, the match between Summer Fever vs BDF should have started at 10:30 a.m., but, because the pitch was wet, it was delayed till after midday. The normal amount of overs to be bowled is 50 on both sides. Because of the late start, it was reduced to 32.
Summer Fever went to bat first. At the fall of the last wicket, the score stood at 97; an okay score, but not one to take for granted. Wickets fell in this order: 1 for 6, 2 for 9, 3 for 24, 4 for 54, 5 for 70, 6 for 92, 7 for 92, 8 for 96, 9 for 97 and 10 for 97. Kenton Young topping the score with 37 , followed by George Hinds with 17. Jerry Cassasola and Alexander Banner took 4 and 3 wickets, respectively, for BDF.
Now it’s time for BDF to show power and skills. Orson Flowers and Maleek Sutherland on the ball, trying their best to take out the soldiers with as low a score as possible. But with wickets falling and runs scoring, it went like this: 1 for 4, 2 for 4, 3 for 6, 4 for 47, 5 for 53, 6 for 53, 7 for 60, 8 for 83, 9 for 93, all for 93. That ended a very close game, losing by 5 runs. According to stats, the batsman, if he had taken his time at bat, the score could have been beaten; but the bowler, Orson Flowers, who is a very experienced bowler, would not let that happen, as he used his tact to get the last wicket out by slowing down the pace of the ball, which caused the batsman to misjudge its timing. For BDF, Bernan Stephenson and Glenford Banner scored 37 and 32, respectively; while Orson Flowers and Maleek Sutherland took 4 and 3 wickets, respectively, for Summer Fever.
These two teams (Summer Fever and BDF) are tied now, so the tie-breaker will be played on Saturday at Lords Bank.
The game between Excellence vs Berlan is postponed again due to the funeral of the late Cyril Thompson on Sunday at Landing.
The Association is requesting that all team players, captains, coaches and umpires attend the funeral on Sunday in uniform.
That’s it, folks! Till next week, respect to and for all. Bye bye!