Red-hot Barnwell, Rutherford’s all-round brilliance hand Cavaliers 2nd win
The Somerset Cavaliers continued their journey in the LA Open T20 tournament with yet another victory as they stomped their dominance over the Gladiators. This was thanks to the efforts of the in-form Christopher Barnwell and Sherfane Rutherford.
Sherfane Rutherford scored 38 and bagged 2-25
In game one against the Punjab Blue, the Cavaliers posted 251 in their 20 overs. But the Gladiators were a different breed, they showed promise and determination from the first ball bowled. They removed Kennar Lewis and Chandrapaul Hemraj to leave the score at 33-2. Xavier Marshall, who scored a brilliant 92 in the opening game, was removed for 8 and Chadwick Walton for 5. The Cavaliers were in a spot of bother as they were stuck on 51-4. It looked as if they were about to post a low total, but in came Christopher Barnwell and Sherfane Rutherford and just like Batman and Robin, they rescued the Cavaliers. Rutherford scored a cameo of 38 off 17, which included one boundary and four towering maximums. Even after he departed, Barnwell continued his aerial assault. While wickets were falling around him, Barnwell just continued to tick and, in the end, he was able to score 60 off 37, inclusive of five boundaries and four maximums at a strike rate of 162.16. The Cavaliers were able to post 165-7 in their allotted overs. Saki Sultani (2-20) and Brynley Richards (2-31) were the main wicket takers for the Gladiators.
Ashmead Nedd celebrates a wicket
The Gladiators needed 166 for victory off 120 balls, a target that seemed very feasible. But what the Gladiators did not cater for was the fact that while the Cavaliers boasted a powerful batting line-up, they had the bowling to back up even a score like 165. The only player to make over 30 runs was Steven Katwarroo with 34 off 20; everyone else crumbled under the pressure of some excellent Cavaliers bowling. Bowling were Nikhil Dutta (2-26); Rusty Theron (2-16); Karim Gore (3-19); Sherfane Rutherford (2-25) and Ashmead Nedd (1-11). The Cavaliers won by 32 runs as the Gladiators could only make 133 all out in 19.2 overs.
