Canada Masters XI, Canadian Legends 50 Plus Masters, and Windies Masters made it three wins in a row when the 2024 SVG International Masters T20 Cricket Festival continued on Wednesday.
Canada Masters XI’s purple patch continued into Day 3 of the Festival Division when they recorded their third consecutive victory, this time by defeating North East Masters by 31 runs at Park Hill.
Canada Masters XI totaled 149 for 7 in 20 overs and were led by Captain Vanay Devishetty who stroked 61. Hollis John 2 for 22 and Marcus Castillo 2 for 32 were the best bowlers on the day for North East Masters, who in reply, were dismissed for 118 in 19 overs.
Emron Lorraine held the innings together with a masterful 74. Shailesh Patel 3 for 8 from 4 overs and Suraesh Nair 3 for 17 in 3 overs were the main destroyers of the North East Innings.
Also in the Festival Division on Wednesday, defending champions All Pro Masters stopped the previously unbeaten SVG Police Masters by 8 runs in a close encounter, which was reduced to 18 overs per innings, at the Sion Hill Playing Field.
All Pro Masters recovered from 67 for 4 to post 167 for 7 in the allotted 18 overs.
Ryan Baksh was once again outstanding with the bat stroking a 32 ball 59 while Arvind Kumar made 33. Gerald Gould 2 for 24, Parnel Browne 2 for 26 and Renford Jack 2 for 31 all got among the wickets for the SVG Police Masters.
In reply, the Vincentian lawmen fell agonisingly short by 8 runs, ending on 159 for 5 when their 18 overs ran out. Hyron Shallow continued his fine form with the bat smashing 6 sixes and 8 boundaries in a 49 ball 93 not out. Salvan Browne also added 28. Deepak Kumar had the best returns with the ball for All Pro Master taking 2 for 37.
Also in the Festival Division, New York Masters picked up their first points when they had the better of North Leeward Masters by 6 wickets at the Cumberland Playing Field. Choosing to bat first, North Leeward Masters were dismissed for 115 with two balls remaining of their 20 overs allotment.
William “Bill” Edwards topped scored with 25. Mc Neil Morgan 3 for 14 and Eric Browne 3 for 26 were chiefly responsible for restricting the North Leeward batsmen.
New York Masters then worked their way up to 116 for 4 in 17.3 overs largely due to 37 not out from Jefferson Richards and 28 by Vincent Benjamin.
Kiven Michael was the most successful bowler for North Leeward Masters with figures of 2 for 17 from 4 overs.
In the Fete Division, Canadian Legends 50 Plus Masters maintained their perfect record with a mammoth 95-run triumph over the Prime Minister’s XI at the Stubbs Playing Field.
Canadian Legends 50 Plus Masters tallied 153 for 3 in 20 overs.
Jude Vanniasingh 48, Imran Rajah 39 and Imran Kazmi 21 not out propelled the Legends to a more than competitive total. Noel Samuel with 2 for 21 was the best bowler on show for the Prime Minister’s XI, who in reply, were bundled out for 58 in 13.3 overs.
Imran Rajah continued to star for Canadian Legends 50 Plus Masters, returning with the ball to snatch 4 for 16 while Mathy Eswaralimya picked up 3 for 5.
Also at Stubbs in the Fete Division, Vee Jays North Windward Masters got passed Nas Masters by 12 runs. Hanif Olliveire’s 30 ball 62 led Vee Jays North Windward to 174 all out in 20 overs. Simon Joseph 3 for 21 and Jason De Freitas 2 for 33 were the standout bowlers for Nas Masters.
Nas Masters then set out pleasingly to their target with an 81 runs first wicket stand, but lost wickets regularly thereafter to end on 162 for 8 when their 20 overs ended. Hanif Olliviere returned with the ball to bag 3 for 19. He had good support from Brendon Child who took 3 for 27 to ensure the points went the way of Vee Jays North Windward Masters.
Defending Fete Division champions, Munro Road Masters, kept within striking distance with a 47-run win over the Trinbago Leatherbacks at Park Hill.
In a match reduced to 15 overs per innings, Munro Road Masters scored 115 for 2 as they benefited from a 103-run second wicket stand between Anil Basant 64 and Lutchman Rampersad who scored 39.
Trinbago Leatherbacks Masters were then restricted to 78 for 5 in their reply off their 15 overs.
Gosnel Cupid top scored with 23. Rajnarine Ragoonath 2 for 8 and Lutchmn Rampersad 2 for 14 aided greatly the victory efforts of Munro Road Masters.
To complete the quartet of matches in the Fete Division for Wednesday, Windies Masters were not to be outdone, moving to three wins from as many matches when they defeated Saratoga International Cricket Club Masters by 8 runs at Sion Hill. Windies Masters managed 138 for 6 in their 20 overs behind scores of 34 from Ian Baldeo, and 32 apiece from Chris Vernan and Orlando Jackson.
Ramesh Singh 2 for 23 and Alston Bacchus 2 for 37 picked up wickets for Saratoga International Cricket Club Masters who managed 130 all out in 19.5 overs in reply. Remesh Singh led the batting with 43 while Besham Sagar made 30. Chris Vernan completed a pleasing day as he returned with the ball to bag 4 for 23 from 3.5 overs.
Day 4 of the 2024 SVG International Masters T20 Cricket Festival will feature five matches.
In the Festival Division Mustique Company Masters will take on North Leeward Masters at Sion Hill Playing Field while All Pro Masters meet New York Masters at the Park Hill Playing Field. Both Festival Division matches will begin at 2 p.m.
In the Fete Division, Munro Road Masters will battle AMAAS Sporting Services Barbados Masters at Sion Hill, Trinbago Leatherbacks Masters lock horns with the Prime Minister’s XI at Cumberland while Sarasota International Cricket Club face off with Nas Masters at PARK Hill. Fete Division matches on Thursday all begin at 10 a.m.