By James Persaud
New York softball cricket fans and supporters have become accustomed to following their favorite team in late October as teams get a last chance at winning a championship. It is no surprise that in most Premier Division finals, you will see either Elite (Assassins) or lately Dynasty. Two of the best teams in softball cricket at present. It was no different on Oct. 27th, with ideal weather conditions to bring a conclusion to the 2024 season.
Vijai Surajpaul scored an explosive century off 52 balls, giving Elite yet another Premier division championship to end the New York Softball Cricket League (NYSCL) 2024 season. Surajpaul was a destructive form as he struck the ball into all parts of the park.
Earlier Dynasty won the toss and asked Elite to bat first. On a dry placid pitch and a fast outfield.
Pooran Beria and Jake Wessels opened against Asif Alli and Murph Seeram. Wessels showed aggression and raced to a quick 19 of 8 balls before losing his wicket to Booby Pahalad. While Beria tried to play more reverse sweep shots and was not able to find the boundary, he lost his partner Devon Sobhai caught by Kenny Narinedat of Nigel Greaves for 1. Vijai Surajpaul made his way to the crease and together with Beria they both tried to pick up the strike rate.
A running mix-up between the batters caused Beria to be short of his crease and he was run out for 11. Yumesh Persaud and Surajpaul brought the good-sized crowd to their feet as the ball-by-ball commentary by Lenny Achaibar and his crew kept them informed. Surajpaul was dropped off Ricky Narine when he was on 43, the next over he took a likeness to Asif Alli and struck 22 runs including three consecutive maximums to race to his half-century.
The decisions by the Dynasty captain were somewhat problematic, using his bowler in a single-over spell did not work well. By the drinks break after 10 overs Dynasty had already used six bowlers with a score of 124 for 3. Yumesh Persaud and Surajpaul stayed together and added a fourth-wicket partnership of 109 runs. Nigel Greaves bowled his fourth over of the game and took the wicket of Sobhai, his next over was the sixteenth and he removed Yumesh Persaud for 29. Eon Ellis arrived at the crease and took 18 runs off the over.
Ellis and Surajpaul sealed the bid for Elite and took the game away from Dynasty, they scored 73 runs off 28 balls as Surajpaul reached his century off 52 balls. It was a good inning from Surajpaul who was unbeaten on 112 including 8 boundaries and 9 maximums. Ellis faced 15 balls and struck 5 maximums to end with 43. Elite scored 254 for 5, Nigel Greaves took 2-28, Bobby Pahalad 1-31, and Murph Seeram 1-37.
Dynasty with a required run rate of over 13 runs per over knew if they had any chance of victory they would have to take the attack to the Elite bowlers early. Siddiq Kayoon got the new ball against Prashad Mahadeo and Shameer. Kayoon had Mahadeo going for the sweep, the ball took the edge and wicketkeeper Pooran Beria took the catch. Skipper Kenny Narinedat was the new batter, and he struggled and after 5 balls he lost his stumps to Dane Glasgow without scoring. Ritesh Bridgelall stayed with Shameer and added 28 runs before Kayoon got his second wicket of Shameer for 15.
Amar Singh made his way to the crease and watched as Bridgelall lost his stumps to Glasgow for 10. In the next over Kayoon removed Amar Singh for 3 runs. At this point, the game was tilting more in favor of Elite. Dane Glasgow and Kayoon bowled with good pace, line, and length, while the batters found runs hard to score. By the time the opening bowlers had bowled their full quota of 4 overs each the Dynasty top order batters were already back under the shade. Yumesh Persaud was the third bowler used and he had Ricky Narine bowled for 14, at the 10-over break Dynasty was reeling on 79 for 6.
When the play resumed with Bobby Pahalad and Nigel Greaves at the crease, they took a different approach and tried to build a partnership. While Pahalad showed aggression, Greaves played more defensively. The partnership lasted just over 8 overs and added 83 valuable runs.
After the first 10 overs Dynasty innings were helped by a display of poor cricket, slack bowling, and poor fielding. Sobhai bowled 1 over that lasted 15 deliveries, including 7 no balls and 2 wide, and cost 24 runs. Pahalad made use of Elite’s mistakes and scored a top score of 42 runs off 34 balls before losing his wicket to Jake Wessels.
Asif Adam joined Greaves at the crease and was bowled by Beria without scoring. Asif Alli scored 5 runs before he was caught of Nico Seepersaud, Murph Seeram was caught by Wessels of Seepersaud to end the innings. Nigel Greaves was left on 21 not out. Dynasty innings ended in the nineteenth over with 69 extras and a total score of 179 all out. Siddiq Kayoon took 3-14, Dane Glasgow 2-36, Nico Seepersaud 2-3, Pooran Beria, Jake Wessels, and Yumesh Persaud claimed 1 wicket each.
Vijai Surajpaul was awarded the Most Valuable Player of the game prize. In his remarks, he said, “I promised my teammates a championship and they played as a team and today we are champions.”
He thanked NYSCL for the opportunity to be able to play his cricket and looking for many more winning seasons.