BELIZE CITY, Wed. May 22, 2019– Hello to all my faithful readers, family, friends and supporters of our so loved game, Cricket!
Under the auspices of the Belize National Cricket Association, I am once more pleased to highlight you on last weekend’s games. Thanks to the sponsor, Bowen and Bowen, the Harrison Parks 2019 National Cricket Competition continued over the weekend with very exciting and impressive games.
Let us start at Landing, where Western Eagles went up against home team, Summer Fever. The Eagles have been struggling along the way so much that all they could do now is play for pleasure or be a spoiler. This they nearly did, by having Summer Fever boys playing very hard to win. The Eagles went to bat first, and at the fall of the last wicket, the score was 116 runs. That’s not a good score against this powerhouse. Wickets fell in this order: 1 for 12; 2 for 22; 3 for 22; 4 for 22; 5 for 72; 6 for 72; 7 for 88; 9 for 91; and all for 116. Rasheed Broaster scored 32. For Summer Fever, wicket takers were shared between several bowlers.
Well, the Summer boys thought they would win this one easily. But not so, as it took 7batsmen to cover the score. Wickets fell in this order: 1 for 2; 2 for 10; 3 for 28; 4 for 54; 5 for 69; 6 for 70; 7 for 104. The 8th batsman went in and won the score, pushing it to 118. Jermaine Baizar scored 25, followed by Kenton Young with 20. Brian Casasola took 3 wickets. That was a well-played game.
Summer Fever have lost two games, and will now meet Bandits on the weekend. Bandits have only lost one game.
Speaking of Bandits, Easy Does It travelled to Bandits’ grounds (in Belmopan) to do battle. Easy Does It went to bat first and scored 123. That score took all 10 of Bandits’ players to win. When the last batsman went in, not even breeze was blowing, as you know what was going “cinco seis.” It was a heartbreaking loss for the Easy boys, and they took that loss Easy.
Sherman Smith, one of Easy Does It star players, top scored with 51. Throughout the competition, Mr. Smith has put in his best. He has won two championship trophies playing with former Surprise of Lemonal, and four championship trophies with Easy Does It, also of Lemonal. Kudos to you, my friend! You have tried your best in a sport and team you so love. (Better luck next year with the Eagles!)
For Easy Does It, Kenroy Reynolds took 6 wickets, losing 43 runs; not a bad average. For Bandits, Ordell Casasola scored 41, and Andrew Banner, Jr. and Glenroy Reynolds took 3 wickets each.
Now, for a surprising win, that was the game between Northern Spirit and Rural Mix. Last season, Rural Mix played a very competitive season. This year, it’s not so. They have struggled a bit, but have won a few impressive games. Over the weekend, Northern Spirit, who I guess won just a couple, defeated Rural Mix, 122 to 95. For Northern Spirit, Ashton Vacaro and Edward Dawson scored 29 and 24, respectively. Andy Dominguez took 5 wickets. For Rural Mix, Randy Rhaburn scored 26, while Dudley Hendy took 5 wickets. Well done, boys!
On Sunday, Berlan proved to carry the nickname, “BIG BAD BERLAN,” as they defeated brutal BDF with spares. My understanding is, BDF batted 137, and Berlan beat the score.
The other games were not played, because teams were either not able to field a team or have dropped out of the competition. When this happens, it causes a situation which is not good for the sport. If my team goes to your home grounds and support you, I am looking for the same from you in return. I am of the opinion that the Association will take some measures next year to avoid this from happening again.
I can safely say at this time that the teams going into the playoffs are: in Zone One – Bandits, Summer Fever and Excellence; and in Zone Two – BDF, Wicked 11 and Berlan. Later on, you will be notified of the positions that the playoff teams hold.
My personal congratulations to winning teams! Also, to the teams that were not so successful, try a little harder next year.
Weekend games
The following games are scheduled for this weekend: On Saturday – Easy Does It vs Rural Mix at Isabella; Excellence vs Northern Spirit at Double Head; Summer Fever vs Bandits at Belmopan. And on Sunday – Berlan vs Sunrise at Lords Bank (back match).
Upcoming Primary School and U-15 cricket competitions
BELIZE CITY, Thurs. May 23, 2019– The Belize National Cricket Association (BNCA) will be hosting a one-day Primary School Cricket Competition on Thursday, May 30, in Burrell Boom, starting at 9:00 in the morning. So far, 6 primary schools will be participating.
Also, Mykelt Anthony from Lemonal will be hosting a one-day U-15 Cricket Competition in Landing on Monday, May 27, starting at 10:00 in morning.