Defending champion Sportmen’s Athletic Club romped to a seven-wicket victory over arch rivals the West Indian Social Club (WISC) in the finals of this year’s Connecticut Cricket League’s championship which was held at Keney Park on Sunday, August 15.

Defending champions Sportmen’s Athletic Club.

Defending champions Sportmen’s Athletic Club.

Sent in to bat first, WISC got off to a good start as their openers Nick Hay and Carlton Wong, batting steadily took the score to 44 before they lost their first wicket. Hay was brilliantly stumped by Sportsmen wicket-keeper Kevin Baugh off the bowling of medium-pacer Jeffery Frater after scoring 19 runs.

Two more wickets fell quickly after this, but they got some good knocks from Omar Watson, who top-scored with 42, C. McLean, 23 not out, Omar Raynor, 20, and Keneil Williams, 18, that enabled them to rack up what was considered a respectable score of 171 runs all out in their 40 overs.

The leading wicket takers for Sportmen’s were Donovan Blake 3 for 20 and Kevin Hussein 2 for 40. Frater and Everton Nelson took 1 for 30 and 1 for 32 respectively.

In their reply, Sportmen’s openers Oneil “Popeye” Powell and Chad Munroe began a spirited chase for the runs right at the start of the innings. Although feared batsman Powell got out when the score reached 40, the rest of the batsmen took up where he left off and raced to victory in 30 overs losing only three wickets in the process.

Leading the scorers was Nelson, who made 47 not out. Other batsmen to score in double figures were Powell, 24, D. Evans, 29, Munroe, 26 and N. Samuels, 23 not out.

Taking the wickets for WISC were N. Blackwood, 1 for 24, Raynor, 1 for 26 and C. Garrison, 1 for 30.