On Saturday, August 29, at the Burrell Boom Field, Sunrise of Lords Bank emerged victorious in game 3 of the championship series against defending champions Brilliant of Crooked Tree Village, to claim the 2009 Belize District Cricket Association’s (BDCA) Harrison Parks Cricket Competition Championship.
It was a low scoring game, 84-61, on a pitch which had been declared un-playable the previous week, causing a postponement with the series tied at one game apiece. Sunrise batted first, and their 84 runs all out proved enough, as defending champions Brilliant could only muster 61 all out. Both sides were all out in 25 overs.
Albert Rivero top scored with 23 runs for the new champs, followed by Gareth Joseph with 17 runs not out, and captain Eddison Parks with 11 runs. Bowlers Dean Perez and John Flowers took 4 wickets each for Sunrise in the victory.
For the losing Brilliant, Arturo Wade had 11 runs, Eldon Wade had 10 runs, and Rodwell Conorque took 5 wickets.
There were no negative incidents after the game, as both teams displayed true sportsmanship, sharing handshakes at center field, before retreating to the sidelines for post-game celebrations with fans, champagne and all. The trophy day has not yet been announced, but chairman Elihue Bonner said it would be held at the home turf of the new champions, Lords Bank, in keeping with the tradition.
(Ed. Note: There are now two cricket champions for 2009. Last week the Belize National Cricket Association (BNCA) crowned Excellence of Double Head Cabbage as its BNCA 2009 Harrison Parks Cricket Competition Champion. Last year, the Parks family had requested that the situation be resolved between the BNCA and the BDCA, so that there would be only one Harrison Parks Cricket Competition.)