By Neto Baptiste
The Liberta Blackhawks were, on Sunday, crowned champions of the Antigua and Barbuda Cricket Association (ABCA) Super 40 Cup after rain forced match officials to abandon the final which was slated for Ball Beef in Liberta.
Blackhawks and rivals Empire Nation were scheduled to clash in the anticipated final after both had won their semifinal fixtures on Saturday but overnight showers first caused a delay to the start of the contest on Sunday before intermittent and heavy downpours forced the umpires to abandon play without a ball being bowled.
The Liberta men were crowned champions on account of being the higher ranked team going into the final.
In their semifinal match which was reduced to 20 overs due to rain, Blackhawks beat Bethesda Golden Eagles by two wickets in Liberta.
Asked to bat after Blackhawks won the toss, Golden Eagles posted 120 for eight in 20 overs with a top knock of 39 from Shacoy Floyd. Player of the match Kadeem Phillip was the pick of the bowlers for the home team with four wickets for 20 runs in his four overs.
Blackhawks then reached 122 for eight in their 20 overs with top scorer Terek Charles hitting a boundary of the last ball to secure victory. Charles ended not out on 32 off 29 balls. Amahl Nathaniel chipped in with 29 runs off 28 balls.
Gavin Tonge was the pick of the bowlers for Eagles with three for 24 in his four overs.
Meanwhile, Empire Nation made light work of Pigotts Crushers on their way to the final, winning the contest by 108 runs in Pigotts.
Asked to bat in another rain affected match, Empire posted 164 for six in 30 overs with their captain, Kenrick Scott leading the charge with 59 from 78 deliveries. Tyrone Williams contributed with 40 off 44 balls at the top of the order. There were two wickets each for Tyree Moore and Elroy Francis Jr bowling for the home team.
Player of the match, Tariq Benjamin, then produced the outstanding figures of seven wickets for just 19 runs in six overs to help remove the Pigotts men for just 56 runs in 15.1 overs.
