Mike’s Wellwoman lift Dave & Celena Softball title

― male finals washed out

Scores of patrons from all walks of life and from various parts of the country flocked the McKenzie Sports Club Ground, Linden to witness the action of the 3rd annual Dave and Celena Softball Cricket Competition on Saturday night.

Four matches were billed for the night but due to the inclement weather only three were possible with the male final being abandoned after just two overs.
In the female final, city side Mike’s Wellwoman displayed their dominance on the field on their way to a 12-run victory over Aroaima Warriors.
Batting first, the Wellwoman ladies posted 76 for three wickets as the overs expired with the rains playing hide and seek. Latoya Fraser powered the innings with a composed knock of 26 as she smashed three boundaries and a massive six over long-on. She found support from Zola Telford who struck a quick fire 19 hitting a four and a six in the process. Joanne Vansertima was also among the runs with 16. The Wellwoman team was also assisted by 10 extras as N. Rogers bagged 2/20 from her two overs.
In Reply, the Aroaima Warriors struggled to get out of the blocks as they lost M. Phillips (03), A. Caramouth (04), R. Williams (04), M. Thompson (05) and M. Daniels (04) cheaply. It was only Rogers who provided any resistance with a solid 14. Meanwhile, Haseena “Speedy” Mohamed picked up four wickets while Latoya Smith, Amanda Bob-Semple and Zola Telford bagged one wicket a piece.
The crowd was stunned to see Aroaima go down without a fight as they were expecting a victory from the region 10 side. Wellwoman carted off with the first prize of $250,000 while Aroaima pocketed $50,000.
Earlier, in the first male semi final, Speedboat went down to Samira Warriors by five runs in their eight-over a-side contest.
Batting first the Warriors posted an imposing 102 for 6 from their allotted overs with R. Ramnauth making 30, Sarfraz Esau 16 runs and S. Budhu 11 while extras contributed a healthy 17. Greg Singh picked up two wickets.
Chasing the mammoth total, Speed boat found a savior in Shazim Hussain who struck a blistering 58 with six maximums but got no help at the other end as wickets kept tumbling. Singh fell for 7, Lennox Mark (04), Kishore Smith (02), G. Narine (04), and W. Sundar (01). Even with the assistance of 19 extras, Speedboat fell to 97 for 6. Vishnu Tanichandra was the pick of the bowlers with three scalps.
In the second semi final, south Stars raced to 79-1 to chase down the Hightimes family total.
Hightimes batted first and posted 75 for the loss of 6 led by D. Pearson who struck two boundaries and a six on his way to 23 and K. Samuels (21) who blasted two sixes from their eight overs. S. Jamin was the front runner of the bowling department snaring two wickets; however, the entire bowling unit leaked 17 extras.
In Reply, H. Niles took control of the match as he dispatched the bowling of Hightimes family to all parts of the MSC Ground on his way to 52. Niles struck three boundaries and four massive sixes while C. Grant was a mere spectator of the onslaught, getting himself 13 runs in the one sided affair.
However, the clash of the giants was reduced to just two overs being bowled before rain washed out the contest between Samira Warriors and South Stars with Warriors being sent in to bat and posting 30 without loss from two overs.
In the end, the match officials called time on the game which resulted in the teams being declared joint champions and splitting the $500,000. However, both teams were fined $50,000 for indiscipline.