The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

For the second consecutive year, the Bahamas emerged as the champions of the Nagico T20 Cricket Tournament.

The two-day event, sponsored by Nagico Insurance and organised by the Guyana Bahamas Association and the Bahamas Cricket Association, was held at Windsor Park over the weekend.

The Bahamas, staying undefeated, pulled off the championship title over the team from The Rest of the World. Jamaica picked up third place by beating host Guyana, who finished winless after losing to the Bahamas in the final last year.

Prior to playing in the championship game, the Bahamas knocked off Jamaica and The Rest of the World prevailed over Guyana on the opening day on Saturday.

“We had absolutely two wonderful days of cricket,” said Viberg Wiliams, who represented Nagico Insurance. “It was very intense. We had some drama, we had tensions and were even had again break. But all in all, I think we had two perfect days of cricket. We had the right weather and the right ambiance and the right crowd. The performances were just as outstanding. I think this year, it was a step up from last year. We will definitely do it again next year.”

BCA president Greg Taylor said they had two full days of exciting competition.

“The fans’ support was great, we had some top-notch matches and the sponsor offered a lot of prizes and surprises. It was just a great tournament,” Taylor Sr said.

Nagico presented cash prizes of $1,800 to the Bahamas with a team and miniature trophies for their effort. The Rest of the World earned $1,000 with their medals for second and for third place, Jamaica collected $700 with their medals.

Additionally, the Man of the Match in each game received $100 and $150 for the Man of the Series.

The fans certainly got their money’s worth as the Bahamas proved why they are the defending champions.

In the finale yesterday, the Bahamas won the toss and elected to bat first. They made 180 for seven in 20 overs to set a pace that The Rest of the World was unable to surpass.

Greg Taylor Jr had 54 runs, Whitcliff Atkins 40 and Marc Taylor 32 to set the stage.

Batting for The Rest of the World, Narendra Ekaneyake had three wickets for four runs in 38 overs.

“The game was good today. The Rest of the World put up a good fight, but we were successful in the end,” said Taylor Jr, the Bahamas team captain. “We had an excellent team with a lot of young players. Of course Marc Taylor, Rudy Fox, Terran Brown, Gary Gittens and the list goes on, all performed very well. We had a lot of talent on our team. We won last year, so we were expected to win again this year.”

Jamaica clinched third

In the third place game, Jamaica won the toss and batted first. They made 174 for four in 20 overs.

Ortneil Clarke produced the only century in the tournament when he finished 119 not out. He also had two wickets to earn the Man of the Match. Gregory Erving helped out with two wickets.

Preliminary Match 1

Guyana batted first and made 153 all out for 10 wickets in 19.3 overs, but it wasn’t enough to secure the win against The Rest of the World. Guyana got 35 runs from Donovan Martin, 31 from John Dolphin and 27 from Jaggernsugh Jagroo.

Bowling for The Rest of the World, Himchand got four wickets for 31 runs. D Osbourne had three wickets for 25 runs and Narendra Ekaneyake had two wickets for 25 runs. The Rest of the World made 156 for 7 in 19.5 wickets. Bowling for Guyana, Albert Peters got two wickets for 34 runs in 3.5 overs.

Preliminary Match 2

The Bahamas surged out front with 201 for 4 wickets in 20 overs and they were never threatened by Jamaica as they clinched the win to advance to the championship on Saturday. Greg Taylor Jr had 56 runs, Jonathan Barry 43 and Judy Fox 37 to set the tone. Jamaica responded and only batted 169 for 8 runs in 20 overs as Gregory Erving had 48 runs, Mike Smith got 34 not out and Ortneil Clarke added 27 runs.

Bowling for the Bahamas, Jonathan Barry had four wickets for 32 runs and Marc Taylor had two wickets for 30 runs.