By Samuel Peters
Buckleys 3J’s, Sisserou, Bullets, Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force Warriors, Dredgers and VIP have all advanced to the quarterfinals stage of the LL Supply Ltd Island Boys Sports Club T20 Tape Ball Classic following the final round of preliminary round encounters at two venues on Sunday.
Playing at the Antigua Grammar School (AGS), Buckleys 3J’s handed TG’s Welding & Fabrication Underdogs their second defeat of the tournament, beating them by 30 runs. In a rain reduced encounter, 3Js posted 119 for seven from 10 overs as Kadeem Henry top-scored with 31. Hughan Tonge was able to snag three wickets for nine runs for the opposition.
In reply, Underdogs made 89 for three as Vishual Gobin cracked an unbeaten 69, but his efforts proved futile against the experience and guile of the men from Buckleys. The best bowler on show for the winners was Egbert Phillip, who collected two wickets for nine runs.
In the second match, PMS ended their campaign with a five-wicket loss to Sisserou to end the competition winless. Kenyatta Benjamin’s top score of 26 helped PMS to 74 all out in 12 overs. Justin Perriera grabbed three for 29 while Isaiah Viville had figures of two for 13 from three overs.
Sisserou responded with 76 for five in 13.3 overs as Vivile stroked a commanding 41 to see his team home. However, Terrence Thompson was able to grab two wickets for 18 runs for PMS.
At Powells, Bullets secured a spot in the quarter finals with a comfortable win over Desi Boys in a rain affected game. Bullets lost the toss and were sent to bat registering 139 for five in 15 overs. National batsman, Essan Warner, slammed 80 runs with Morrison Browne contributing 23 runs. Bijay Kumar took two wickets for 22 runs in his quota of overs.
Kumar returned with the bat to top score with 23 while Samuel Joshua made 22 for Desi Boys, as they fell short of the target by 18 runs. Kimani George and Andra Samuel had identical figures of three wickets of 27 runs from their quota of three overs, restricting the Boys to 121 for 8.
In the other game contested Sunday, ABDF Warriors inflicted a heavy defeat over Strictly Business with a resounding eight-wicket victory. The latter won the toss and elected to bat but were restricted to 131 all out in 17.2 overs. The economical bowling of Quincy Francis (3-20), Vaughn Charles (3-21) and Almoyie Webster (2-16) proved too much to handle, but Malique Jacobs and Adrian Abbott scored 36 and 26 respectively.
The Defence Force side took no passengers and got to the target with nine overs to spare. Shaquille Richards 35, Tron Payne 34* and Almoyie Webster 31 showed their adversaries two to bat on the same pitch. Every bowler for the Business team got the proper treatment required.
In the quarterfinals, Buckleys 3J’s face Rackaman Construction Strictly Business at 10 am, whereas TG’s Welding & Fabrication Underdogs will challenge the ABDF Warriors at 2:00 pm both at Powells. At the Antigua Grammar School, Dredgers will meet Sisserou for 10 am while VIP will take on Brysons Shipping & Insurance Bullets for 2pm.
The quarterfinals will be contested on October 1.
