By Neto Baptiste
Defending champions in the Cool & Smooth T20 Explosion, Liberta Blackhawks, kept their perfect record intact with a 53-runs triumph over New Winthorpes Lions, their third in as many matches as they lead the eight-team competition with 15 points.
Winning the toss and opting to bat at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Blackhawks raised 145 all out in 19.4 overs. They were led by player of the match Andre Bailey who made 42 not out while Kofi James, who just 24 hours earlier had scored the tournament’s first century, also reached 42 before he was caught by Ian Eusebe off the bowling Michael Palmer.
Ishmael Peters was the pick of the bowlers for Lions with four wickets for 29 runs in 3.4 overs while Michael Leask bagged three for 22 in four overs.
Bailey then snagged three for seven in two overs while West Indies and Leeward Islands spinner Hayden Walsh Jr claimed three for 15 in four overs as Blackhawks restricted Lions to just 92 for nine in 20 overs. Mikkel Govia was the top scorer for Lions with 31 runs.
James said the Blackhawks players always backed themselves no matter what.
“Liberta Blackhawks, we back ourselves; so if we score 145 then we can defend it and out them for anything less than what we make because we have strength in our bowling, so it was just about going out and executing our plans. We have this talk, skill for skill, where if we perform our skills better we should do well in T20 cricket, so it was just about going out and executing our plans,” he said.
There was victory as well for Pigotts Crushers who picked up their second win in three matches with a 105-run triumph over Bolans Blasters.
Winning the toss and opting to bat, Crushers posted 211 for four in their 20 overs with Kristan Kallicharan (57) and Jewel Andrew (54*) both getting half centuries. Essan Warner contributed with 41. Kerry Mentore was the top bowler for Blasters with three wickets for 32 runs in four overs.
Blasters then struggled to get going before being bowled out for just 106 in 14.3 overs. Their best effort came from Mentore who made 27. There were three wickets each for Chris Greves (3/21) and player of the match Kadeem Henry (3/23).
Coach of the Pigotts Crushers Ajani Frederick praised his batters for having amassed such a huge total.
“Scoring 200 in any cricket game and especially a T20 game is something special for any level of cricket and we’re ticking most of the boxes in terms of what we want to achieve in the start-up of the tournament and so far we’re doing ourselves justice,” he said.
In Sunday’s other contest, Jennings Tigers claimed their first win in two matches when they edged All Saints Pythons by just one run.
Batting first, Tigers were led by player of the match, DAhri Francis, who made 93 off 55 balls, hitting six maximums and seven fours to lead his team to 150 for six in 20 overs. Kadeem Josiah led the way with the ball for Blasters with three wickets for 15 runs in four overs.
Pythons then fell just short of the mark at 149 runs for nine wickets in their 20 overs. Matthew Forde hit a top score of 41 off 26 balls. Winston Nelson (2/17) and Glenton Williams (2/24) were the pick of the bowlers for Tigers.
Coach of Jennings Tigers, Glen Miller, highlighted Francis’ performance with the bat.
“This young man and sometimes for talent, you don’t just look at scores and sometimes you don’t just look at stats because you can judge talent in many different ways, so I am telling the people of Antigua and the West Indies that this young man in one for the future,” he said.
The competition continues nightly at the North Sound venue.