By John L. Aaron
It may have been intended to mimic a reprisal of the role of Chris played by Yul Bryner in the 1960 classic “The Magnificent Seven,” except it was a Cyril Choy-led motley but courageous Port Mourant Cricket Club crew against Atlantis Cricket Club-NY on Sunday, July 7, 2024, at the Roy A. Sweeney Cricket Oval in Brooklyn, NY. The not-so-magnificent but courageous seven eventually grew to eight, but it was too late.
Atlantis, winning the coin toss, opted to bat first and posted a massive 557 runs to the tins, as three pirates weighed anchors of 107, 110, and 111, while another two threatened while posting 63 and 74, with yet another missing a half-century by just one run. Taking advantage of Port Mourant starting with just seven players, Atlantis opened with its skipper Randall Wilson and Dino Chooweenam. The latter showed signs of emerging from a lackluster season by posting a well-made 49 off 25 balls that included 4x6s and 4x4s. The Dino, whom many in the tri-state area have admired for his power-hitting, was dismissed c&b by Port Mourant pacer Jermaine Pollard just as he was settling down to feast on whatever Port Mourant was serving.
At the other end, Atlantis’ skipper Randall Wilson was patiently working his way to his first ton of the season, having missed out on two tons of fun by just two and one run in his previous two appearances at the middle. Wilson would go on to score a magnificent 111 off 55 deliveries. His knock included 8x6s and 10x4s. While Wilson was inching his way to his long-awaited century, Marvan Prashad, at the other end, was racing to surpass him. Having replaced Chooweenam at the crease with the score at 80 for one in the eight over. Prashad was on fire, hitting ten maximums and seven boundaries in his 110 contribution.
During his knock and the loss of Randall Wilson’s wicket at 2 for 277 in the 23rd over, he was joined by the power-hitting Jamal Hinckson, who took a liking to what Port Mourant was serving and raced to 107 off just 39 balls. His strike-rate of 274.36 was the result of eleven sixes and six boundaries. It was power-hitting at its best as Atlantis dominated the depleted bowling attack of a hapless Port Mourant.
With three centurions departing and the arrival of Jamal “Short Boss” Norton and Guyana national all-rounder Ronaldo Alimohamed, the run-fest continued much to the delight of the spectators who ringed the Roy Sweeney Oval to watch the onslaught. Norton would post 74 with 6x6s and 5x4s before he was caught behind by Port Mourant’s skipper Cyril Choy off the bowling of Kazi Tajul. Jamal Hinckson followed him ten overs later with a clobbering 63 off 18 balls with 6x6s and 6x4s. He was, however, comprehensively bowled by Kazi Tajul, but only after recording a strike rate of 350.00.
As the overs dwindled, Diquan Murray, Greg Robinson, and Dillon Bourne found it hard to follow in the footsteps of the ball bullies that preceded them and helped close out the Atlantis inning at 557 for 7 in the allotted 40 overs. Telston Johnson and debutante Shiv Raghubar did not appear on the big screen. Extras chipped in with 31.
The Atlantis wickets fell at 80, 277, 287, 456, 520, 555 and 556. The centurions were not all on the batting side, as Port Mourant’s Aren Biko contributed 132 to the Atlantis total with figures of 8-0-132-2. However, the pick of the Port Mourant bowlers among the mayhem was Kazi Tajul with figures of 6-0-77-3; Jermaine Pollard and Randy Pattiram each snared an Atlantis scalp at the cost of 85 and 94 runs, respectively, as the badly wounded Port Mourant squad meandered its way back to the sideline contemplating whether the Atlantis bowling line up would be as merciless as its batting lineup.
Port Mournat did not tuck its tail between its legs when it emerged to face the daunting task of scoring at a rate of almost 14 runs per over to come within smelling distance of a victory. The courage showed by the openers, skipper Cyril Choy and Zafar Chowdhury, was heartwarming as the duo went after the Atlantis opening bowlers Greg Robinson and Dillon Bourne, with commendable aplomb, racing to almost nine runs per over before Chowdhury, 8, was dismissed by Dillon Bourne in the fourth over.
Cyril Choy liked the bowling of Greg Robinson, who came off the injured list and into the Atlantis bowling line-up. Choy hit the Atlantis quickie for back-to-back sixes somewhere behind square-leg with effortless ease in the third over. However, the subsequent two runs posted were at the cost of two wickets — Kazi Tajul, who did not trouble the scorer, and Choy, who top-scored with 24 and a defiant “You’re not taking me alive” in-your-face attitude. The end was not too far in sight as a now headless Port Mourant floundered helplessly at 37 for 3.
The middle-order batters Kenrai Dandiyal, 14, c. Jamal Norton b. Ronaldo Alimohamed, Denial Soodeen, 13, c. Diquan Murray b. Telston Johnson and the not-out Aren Biko, 14, showed some defiance, albeit too late on an empty tank, with the Port Mourant inning closing out at 90 in the 15th over. There were eight Extras.
The Port Mourant wickets fell at 35, 36, 37, 57, 74, 78, and 90. Bowling for Atlantis: Ronaldo Alimohamed 4.4-2-8-3, Dillon Bourne 3-0-30-2 and Telston Johnson 6-0-31-2 were all Atlantis needed to notch its fifth win for the season and position itself at the top of the leaderboard of the 2024 New York National Cricket League’s Premier 40 overs Division Tournament.
Atlantis faces off against American Cricket Society Cricket Club at Lido Beach, on Long Island, NY, on Sunday, July 14, 2024, at 1:00 pm.