By Neto Baptiste
Batting all-rounder and captain of the successful Antigua and Barbuda Masters Blasters, Karima Gore, believes that it was the ability of the players to bond quickly as a unit that inspired the team to an unbeaten run in the recently concluded Leeward Islands Cricket Board (LICB) 50 Overs Tournament held in St Kitts.
“We jelled very well as a team and I know a lot of the guys because we played with them from under-15, under-17 and under-19 so I feel like it was a maturing step also because I am at a stage where I think my cricket is more mental than physical. I know what I need to get done but I think we kind of neglect the mental part of it. Coming up from a younger age you’d hear people say to control what you can control but over the past few months I’ve learnt from mental doctors that I’ve been to more detailed stuff so I think that has helped me under pressure situations and even going into the tournament,” he said.
Antigua and Barbuda defeated rivals St. Kitts by 14 runs in their final match of the tournament held October 4 to successfully defend the title they won in 2019 when the tournament was last held.
Master Blasters posted 314 for eight in their 50 overs with Kadeem Henry hitting a top score of 78 and Jewel Andrew making 73.
Gore said he feared the team did not score enough runs at the Warner Park venue.
“Honestly, I felt like we were about 50 runs short because of how good the batting track was but we had already made the 314 so we just had to put our best foot forward and try to defend it as much as possible. I would say the par score for the surfaces in St Kitts would be around 300 to 320 and I would say that’s the minimum but I have to give the guys credit because everybody tried their best and put the team in a good position where we actually won all the games,” the captain said.
In their reply, St Kitts, despite a century (105) from Jaleel Clarke and 76 from Mikyle Louis, could only reach 300 all out in 47 overs. Henry was the pick of the bowlers for Antigua and Barbuda with four wickets for 46 runs off seven overs while Elroy Francis Jr bagged three for 36 in seven overs also.
Gore said picking up the wicket of West Indies batter Mikyle Louis in the dying stages of the game was a big relief.
“To be honest, we know he is a guy who strikes the ball very well and could, pretty much, hit sixes so it was just a matter of time before we got an opportunity we could capitalise on and get him out. He has been batting well so when he got out, it was a pretty good relief because he could actually take the game from us pretty quickly,” he said.
Master Blasters opened their campaign with a five wicket win over Combined Islands on September 29 before beating Nevis by seven wickets one day later. Antigua and Barbuda then beat Anguilla by just one run on October 1 before beating St Kitts in the final encounter.