Eccles All Stars, 4R Lioness A are GTT tape ball stars
By Delvon McEwan
Eccles All Stars and 4R Lioness A claimed the respective titles in the male and female categories of the GTT Tape ball tournament on Sunday.
On a day where tape ball players provided lots of excitement to the delight of the scores of fans present at the National Park to witness the final day of action, Eccles All Stars gained the champion title after defeating Specialists by six runs in a high scoring encounter. They triumphed in the tournament that featured more than 100 teams.
Eccles All Stars- Champions of GTT Knockout Tape ball tournament
Kishan Persaud assaulted Specialists’ bowlers on his way to a top score of 52 in his team’s total of 93-3 in their allotted five overs.
Specialists replied with 87-4 with Renaldo Renee striking 30.
Meanwhile, in the Women’s final 4R Lioness A comfortably defeated 4R Lioness B with all their wickets intact.
The winners successfully chased 37 runs for victory with Latoya Smith leading the way with 34 not out.
The men’s champions were rewarded with $200,000, a trophy and 10 tickets for Hero’s Caribbean Premier League match between Guyana Amazon Warriors and Trinbago Knight Riders on Saturday August 19.
The runners up collected $100,000 and a trophy while third place finishers received $50,000 and a trophy.
The women’s champions won a trophy and tickets to CPL match on August 19.
Ershaad Ali of Ruimveldt Sports Club was named MVP of the tournament with 242 runs and 6 wks. Highest individual score of the tournament was 85 from Guyana’s national spinner Aamir Khan.
Leading up to the final there were thrilling semifinals. The following are the results from those matches.
Semifinal one: Eccles All-stars 74-1, (Andy Lall 29 not out) defeated Modern Media 58-3, (Karamchand Persaud 31).
Semifinal two: Specialist 82-3, (Ryan Adams 46 not out) defeated Ruimveldt Sports Club 81-3 (Earl Gilkes 49 not out) by 3 wks.
Men’s third Place Playoff: Ruimveldt Sports Club 48-1 (Ershaad Ali 44 not out) defeated Modern Media 46-1 (A. Wasim 28 not out) by 5 wks.
Women Semifinal. 4R Lioness A 80-2, (Latoya Smith 33 not out) defeated Trophy Stall Angels 53-3, (June Ogle 21) by 27 runs.
The tournament was used as an activity to get cricket lovers in the mood for the Guyana leg of CPL action which commences on August 17 at the National Stadium.
