Antigua, St Lucia Pro Teams Win

Beausejour, St Lucia - Last evening captain Sylvester Joseph left a stamp of class at the Beausejour Cricket Ground with an intelligent innings of 69 to lead the Stanford 20/20 Antigua and Barbuda Pro Team to victory over cricketing arch rival the Stanford 20/20 Nevis Pro Team.

Joseph top scored for his team to lead them to 174 for 8 in 20 overs as Nevis fell short by 25 runs, ending on 149 for 7 from their 20 overs.

SCORES: Antigua and Barbuda 174 for 8 from 20 overs, Nevis 149 for 7 from 20 overs.

West Indies batsman Austin Richards Jr and Wilden Cornwall, both making impressive comebacks from knee surgeries blasted 38 each in quick time. With Joseph, the anchor, and Richards, the aggressor, opening the innings, after four overs they were coasting along at 39 without loss.

The top three (Joseph, Richards and Cornwall) made145 runs as the Nevis bowlers came back and did not let the Antiguan middle order out of the blocks. Joseph stayed around until the final over to see the score beyond the 160 that the Antiguans had targeted on the slow paced pitch.  

Joseph faced 45 deliveries and hit four fours and three sixes. Richards smashed seven fours and one six and Cornwall slammed three fours and two sixes.

Medium pacer Daynason Browne bagged three wickets for 22 runs while spinners Akito Willett and Joseph Williams pocketed two wickets each.

Nevis' innings got off to a rollicking start as Kieran Powell and Shervin Woodley took on the pacers but the Antigua and Barbuda spinners put a check on the proceedings to stall the run chase in the middle overs. Powell blitzed 33 from 20 deliveries but got out with the score on 46 in the 6th over just as Nevis looked like setting a foundation to coast to victory. Woodley (26) and Carlon Smitten (31) pushed the score to 82 by the 10th over but captain Joel Simmonds' 33 (from 25 balls) in the middle order was not enough to achieve victory.

Pacer Curtis Roberts picked up 2 for 27 while spinners Larry Joseph (1 for 22) and Justin Athanaze (0 for 21) kept the Nevis batsmen under wraps.

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In the second game which started at 7pm under lights, St Lucia chalked up 136 for 8 with Shervin Charles top scoring with 31 from 26 deliveries. While impressive in the field with a combination of fearlessly hostile fast bowling, restrictive spin and sharp ground fielding, Anguilla were found wanting in the batting department and lost by 51 runs after being bundled out for 85 from 16.3 overs.

SCORES: St Lucia – 136 f 8 from 20 overs, Anguilla 85 all out from 16.3 overs

Tthe St Lucia top order gave away wickets with excessively reckless shot selections but Charles received lower order support from numbers eight and nine in Alleyne Prospere (27 from 19 balls) and Xavier Gabriel (21 from 18 balls) to push the score up to some respectability after St Lucia wobbled to 82 for 7.

Seventeen year old spinner Sridath Rey was outstanding for Anguilla with 3 for 14 from his allotment of four overs while the fiery Kelbert Walters picked up 3 for 24 and intimidated the batsmen with bulls eye short pitched deliveries. One Walters short ball crashed into Prospere's helmet and damaged the headgear.

Anguilla, missing their premier player, Omari Banks (on leeward Island duties) were never in the hunt when they chased. They lost wickets regularly, leaving them 4 for 26, then 54 for 7 and then eventually 85 all out. Ronald Lake offered the most significant resistance with 26 from 28 deliveries and struck four boundaries while Walters (10) was the only other batsman to manage double figures.

Cyril Charles was the main wicket taker for St Lucia with three for 29 while Alleyne and Alvin Prospere each bagged two wickets.