By John L. Aaron
The words, “Give me liberty or give me death,” uttered by the Virginia revolutionist Patrick Henry almost 250 years ago, may not apply to the 40-overs encounter between Atlantis Cricket Club-NY and Liberty Richmond Hill Cricket Club fought this past Sunday at The Cage in Jamaica, Queens, NY. However, it was anticipated as a battle between two competitive compatriots, though in no way comparable to the radical Patrick Henry encouraging Virginians to form a militia to fight back against the British in 1775 or die trying.
Atlantis won the toss and decided to bat ahead of the ‘Blue Nation’ Richmond Hill Liberty Cricket Club. Undoubtedly, the boys in yellow wanted to take down Liberty or die trying – it mattered that much. Instead, they got neither Liberty’s scalp nor death, but rain. Just as Atlantis folded its tent all out at 241 in 36.2 overs, they had to open it to evade a massive downpour from the heavens above. Was it a blessing or a curse? The only blessed thing is neither team died in the process but took the liberty of adding one point each to their season’s tally.
Atlantis – opening with its skipper Randall Wilson and a struggling-for-form Dino Chooweenam, posted 27 before they lost the latter for 15 off an equal number of balls, plus one. His brief partnership with Wilson made way for others and Marvan Prashad, who saw Atlantis reach 146 for 6 in the 25th over. However, Prashad would have witnessed a parade of four teammates make their way out to the middle before returning to take shelter from their misery of posting less than their par scores – skipper Randall Wilson c. Keron Sewnarine b. Tamesh Persaud, 37 (1×6, 4x4s), Jamal Norton b. Surendra Ramcharitar, 11, Kellon Carmichael c. Keron Sewnarine, b. Leon Mohabir, 11, and Steve Roopnarine b. Leon Mohabir, 3.
Marvan Prashad’s 54 came off an equal number of deliveries, including 2x6s and 3x4s. It was a core contribution before Ronaldo Alimohamed was caught by Dominque Rikki off the bowling of Jamiel Jackman for a well-made 59 off 32 balls. His half-century included two fours and six massive maximums with a strike rate of 184.38. The half-centuries of Alimohamed and Prashad, along with 16 each from veteran Jamal Hinckson (1×6, 1×4) and not-out Atlantis debutante Kheshram Seyhodan, pushed the Atlantis tally to 241, about 40 runs shy of par for The Cage.
Thus, the Atlantis inning ended, and their taking of Liberty over death was thwarted by a downpour that dashed all hopes of a win-column result for Richmond Hill Liberty or Atlantis, as the game was called soon after. It would have been a battle well-fought on the hill or in the bunkers of two well-balanced teams vying for supremacy in the New York National Cricket League’s 40-overs Premier 2024 Tournament.
Bowling for Richmond Hill Liberty: Skipper Keron Sewnarine 4-0-25-2, Leon Mohabir 6-0-39-2, Jamiel Jackman 5-0-41-2 with Latchman Bisram, Surendra Ramcharitar, and Tamesh Persaud each responsible for the remaining three Atlantis scalps.
Atlantis plays Port Mourant Cricket Club this Sunday, July 7, 2024, at the Roy Sweeney Cricket Oval, Exit 15, Belt P’way, Brooklyn, NY. Match time is 1:00 pm.