Wazeer, Drakes, Smith power Speed Boat past Regal

GFSCA/ Guyana Softball Cup 6

― Fishermen came up empty handed against Floodlights

The curtains came down on the Guyana Softball Cup 6 in the wee hours of Monday morning in emphatic fashion when Wazeer Hussain and Travis Drakes put on 73 runs in just over seven overs to power Speed Boat XI past defending champions Regal All-Stars at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) ground Queenstown. Also, former Masters’ champions, Floodlights took care of Fishermen’s XI to take their second title in three years while Mike’s Wellwoman won the female exhibition category on a very long and eventful day.
In the Male Open final, Speed Boat set 173 to beat Regal All-Stars they were in trouble before Hussain and Drakes joined forces in the 13th over at 100/5 after losing their entire top order. First to go was the hard hitting and dangerous Lennox “The Assassin” Marks who was bowled by Roohit “The Beast” Dutchin in the third over for 12 to trigger the slide. Shazim Hussain (01), Amrit Rai (00) and captain Greg Singh (12) followed in quick succession as Speed Boat was reduced to 61/4 in the ninth. Sarfraz Karim, who scored 23 (1×4; 1×6) and Wazeer Hussain took their team to the 10 overs break further loss.  However, after the drinks break the pendulum swung from side to side as the drama intensified.
With 97 runs needed at less than 10 runs per over over the last 10, the game was in the balance. However, the champs will strike shortly after when Richard Latif forced Karim to go for a big shot and he was smartly taken by Sachin Singh at long off to trigger wild celebrations. With 73 needed Regal were back on top with Dutchin, Latif, Sewchand Budhu, Ameir Nizamudin and Tyrone Sanasie picking up one wicket each at that point and were entertaining thoughts of a repeat.
Wazeer Hussain who was playing a few shots but needed the support was joined by Travis Drakes. The energetic pair worked the huge gaps beautifully and picked up the odd boundaries to see their team winning their first title after playing in their first Guyana Softball Cup final. Hussain, who was later named Man of the Match ended on 45 not out with five sweetly timed flick shots for maximums while the more aggressive Drakes hit two fours and two sixes in 37 not out as Speed Boat finish on 173/5 to win by five wickets with 10 deliveries to spare.
Earlier, Regal All-Stars were bowled out for 172 in the final over after being sent in. They were on course for a big score at the start of the 12th over at 109/3 but Kishore Smith who bowled Patrick Rooplall for 33 (3×6; 1×4), Fazal Rafeek and Roohit Dutchin (01) in the same over to leave the champs reeling at 111/6 and change the game the Speed Boat way. There were 37 extras in total with 20 wides while Sachin Singh (31) and Sarfraz Esau with 20 (1×6) tried their best to put the innings back on course. Smith, who bowled flat and fast ended with 4 for 33 while Mark “Rambo” Harold had 2 for 19.
Speed Boat won $800,000 and a magnificent trophy while Regal All-Stars pocketed $200,000 and a trophy. While Amrit Rai who scored the only hundred in the Open category to win the Most Valuable Player award. He was presented with a cricket bat diamond studded gold pendant.
In the Master’s Category, former champions, Floodlights beat Fishermen’s XI convincingly by eight wickets after being set 117 to win. Floodlights Captain, Rickey Deonarain finished the game emphatically by hitting Jagdish Persaud for a big six over long off. Deonarain ended on 39 not out (2×4; 1×6) with him when victory was achieved Ramo Malone was not out on 24 (3×4) while Uniss Yusuf gave the innings the usual brisk start with 27 while the consistent Ramesh Narine (12) was the other wicket to fall. Satrohan Seeraj finished with 2 for 19 for the first time finalists, Fishermen’s XI who were restricted for 116 for 8 from their 20 overs. The innings never got going after they were sent in. Seeraj top scored with 26 while Lionel Persaud made 18 in a late push for a challenging total. Malone (2/8), Manoj Arjune (2/13) and Narine (2/20) bowled tidy spells to help the new champions pocket $600,000 and a gigantic trophy. Malone, took a stunning one handed catch at deep midwicket to dismiss the dangerous Jagdish Persaud for 13 off of Narine to go with his two wickets and his unbeaten innings to walk away with the Man of the Match prize. Jagdish Persaud, who scored two centuries in the preliminary stage of the tournament which began on Friday last was named Most Valuable Player of the Master’s Category and was rewarded with a cricket bat diamond studded gold pendant also from Steve’s Jewellery. His team also won $150,000 and a trophy for their efforts.

The female exhibition competition was won by last year’s winners Mike’s Wellwoman who defeated Trophy Stall Angels by 25 runs in the final to take the $50,000 first prize and a trophy. Batting first Wellwoman got to 79/4 from 10 overs with Captain Latoya Smith cracking 35. Nicola Leacock took two wickets for 12 runs for Trophy Stall Angels who were then dismissed for 54 in the eighth over. Amanda Bobb-Semple picked up 4/14 while Shemelle McDonald had 3/14 and Smith 3/12. Smith was named Player of the Final.  On their way to the final, Mike’s Wellwoman beat Blue Divas in the opening semifinal while Wellwoman beat 4R Lioness by 3 runs in a high scoring affair.  The annual tournament began last Friday with 22 teams in the Masters and Open Categories with Regal Masters and Regal All-Stars looking to defend their titles after sweeping the competition in 2015.  The final was not short of drama beyond the boundary when Regal Masters staged a protest and even went as far as uprooting the stumps just before the Master’s final began. The behavior escalated after Regal Masters did not win an official protest after losing their semifinal to Fishermen’s XI on Saturday. The 2015 champs were bowled out for 84 at the Eve Leary ground and after losing the match by four wickets an official protest was launched. Regal Master felt cheated after alleging that players from Fishermen’s XI were under age. The organisers, the Guyana Floodlights Softball Cricket Association (GFSCA) used the National Identification cards provided and it was found that the players were of the required age. However, Regal Masters questioned the authenticity of the ID cards provided and the police was called in. After a trip to the police station, the players in question and a few members of the Regal squad returned to the match venue and the final was called.
The sixth annual Guyana Softball Cup was sponsored Stag, Rubis Guyana, Trophy Stall, Survival Group of Business, Steve Jewellery, Clear Waters, Busta Soft Drinks, Rohan Auto Spares, A&R Jewanram Printery, WJ Enterprise and Mikes Pharmacy.  There were lots of spectator giveaways throughout the day including four all-expense paid trips for two persons each to Baganara, Kaiteur/Orinduik Falls, Arrowpoint and Aruwai Resort White H20 and 10 variety hampers from Mike’s Pharmacy and Nauth’s Motor Spares.