Atlantis Bees Swarm Staten Island

By John L. Aaron
It was like a swarm of bees descending upon eleven men on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere, as Atlantis Cricket Club – NY stung a hapless Staten Island Cricket Club last Sunday at Idlewild Cricket Ground in Queens, NY in the New York Metropolitan Cricket League Roy Sweeney T20 Challenge Cup. Earlier in the day, Atlantis was gifted five points from a walk-over by Pioneer Cricket Club.

Winning the toss and electing to take the first strike, Atlantis, behind the bats of Ronaldo Ali Mohammed, 166 not out off 71 deliveries, stung the Staten Island bowlers with a swarm of fours and sixes. To be exact, nine sixes and 17 boundaries. The overseas registrant arrived at the crease with the score at 16 for two and immediately began stinging the opposition bowlers. Much to the delight of the fans, Ali Mohammed was single handily responsible for losing at least half a dozen balls in the perimeter of the idyllic Idlewild Park. Many of the fans had gathered for the match in memory of two of Atlantis’ outstanding members – Keith Aaron and Leslie “Tulu” Lewis, both of whom passed away one year ago.

Atlantis would score a mammoth 296 for the loss of only two wickets off the allotted 20 overs. It was the first round of the 2022 Roy Sweeney T20 Challenge Cup. Joining Ali Mohammed in the middle and contributing to the stinging fest was another of the club’s overseas registrants Kellon Carmichael, 54 off 22 deliveries, including one maximum and nine flat ones. Young Barbadian-born Akeel Hoyte making his T20 debut for Atlantis chipped in with a well-made 35 not out (2x6s, 1×4).

Staten Island could not apply enough Benadryl to soothe the bee stings, as they took to the field to respond to an asking rate of almost 15 runs per over. Eventually, they would succumb to the stings at 61 all-out in 16 overs. Only Abdul Choudhury, 17, A. Dilan, 14, and Extras, 15, reached double digits. Bowling for Atlantis – Avinash Wajib 4-1-15-3, Seth Maughn 4-2-10-2, Navinash Ramdyal 4-0-24-2, and Garfield DeRoche 4-1-8-1 were responsible for alleviating the painful sting bites of the Staten Island batters. Atlantis would go on to win the match by a whopping 235 runs.

Ronaldo Ali Mohammed was adjudged Player-of-the-Match, and his teammate Kellon Carmichael was recognized as the game-changer of the match.

Atlantis’ next T20 fixture is on Sunday, July 10, vs. Sheffield Cricket Club at the Roy Sweeney Cricket Oval in Brooklyn, NY, at 3:00 PM. Staten Island will engage Pioneer in the earlier T20 fixture at the same venue.

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