From May 7-June 9 this year, the Jamaica Cricket Association staged the All-Island Limited Overs competition, ending a long wait for the return of club cricket in the country.
That two-year hiatus affected many of the prominent cricket clubs around the island, including The Melbourne Cricket Club.
Since its inception in 1892, the club has been synonymous with winning and has produced many cricketers who have gone on to represent the region at the highest level including Courtney Walsh, Michael Holding, Marlon Samuels, Robert Samuels, Carlton Baugh Jr, Donovan Pagon and Nikita Miller to name a few.
“For starters, Melbourne is a cricket club and we attract patrons mostly through cricket; be it players, spectators and/or fans. Closing our doors for two years resulted in a loss of the vibrancy of the club as well as the recruitment of young players,” said James Stewart, team manager at Melbourne.
“Currently, the players who represent the club are those who have been around for some time,” he added.
The Derrymore Road-based club also won the last edition of the Limited Overs tournament in 2019 but failed to pass the preliminary round this year.
“Our team failing to progress to the next round was down to several factors. Firstly, we did not execute our plans in the first three games. As a result, we had to play ‘catch up.’ Secondly, several players in our ranks had overseas assignments and that left the team weakened,” Stewart said.
The Jamaica Defence Force came away winners of that title after a tense two-wicket victory over St. Mary at Sabina Park.
Melbourne will be aiming to rebound from that disappointment with success in the ongoing JCA T20 Bashment which began on September 4 and will end on October 9.
The team has so far gone unbeaten in their first five matches of the preliminary round, recording three wins and two no results and with their final two group games coming this weekend, the club stands a good chance of advancing to the quarterfinals.
“Based on our team structure, we have a good chance of winning this ongoing T20 Bashment. Currently, we have not lost a game and we have only dropped points because of the weather. Most of pour players are in good batting form and the bowling is improving weekly,” said Stewart who is also coaching the team in the tournament due to the absence of regular head coach Nikita Miller who is on assignment with the Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League.
“Additionally, we have had some bolstering to our ranks in terms of our bowling. These additions will go a far way in terms of how effectively and efficiently we execute our plans throughout this tournament,” he added.
Police are, so far, unbeaten in the competition having won five games and having two abandoned due to rain to finish top of Pool 3.
In the quarterfinals last Saturday, they secured a 27-run win over Kingston Cricket Club at Chedwin Park to advance to the last four. They batted first and made 132-6 from their 20 overs thanks to a top-score of 51 off as many deliveries from Courtney Allen that included one four and four sixes. Medium-pacer Andre Bailey took 3-37 for Kingston. In reply, Kingston could only manage 105-9 from their 20 overs as pacer Kemar Anderson starred with 3-13 from four overs for Police. Johnois Sappleton also bowled well with 3-18 from his four overs.
St. Elizabeth CA, Police’s opponents in the first semi-final on Saturday, are also unbeaten having won five matches and having one abandoned to top Pool 1.
They reached the last four after a comfortable eight-wicket win over Pool 2 runners up Clarendon CC in the second game at the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium last Saturday. Batting first, Clarendon were restricted to 125 all out from 19.5 overs. Jamaica Under-19 representative Adrian Weir top-scored with 47 against medium-pacer Andre McCarty’s 3-16 from four overs. Romaine Nembhard supported with 3-30 from his spell. St. Elizabeth then only needed 17.4 overs to reach 126-2 thanks to Bryan Gayle’s 69 not out from 52 deliveries including six fours and three sixes.
The second quarterfinal at Chedwin Park saw Pool 4 winners JDF secure a dominant 76-run win over Pool 3 runners up Kensington Cricket Club to continue their quest to add to their All-Island 50-Over title from earlier this year.
Batting first, JDF scored 152-6 from their 20 overs thanks to 38 from opener Kevin Daley and late contributions from Jamaica Scorpions pacer Gordon Bryan (29 not out) and captain Leighton Leslie (27 not out). Kensington skipper Ryan Francis took 2-28 from his four overs. Kensington’s chase never got going as only two players got into double figures before they were dismissed for a paltry 76 in 16.5 overs. Daley capped a fine all-round display with 4-12 from his four overs while Bryan chipped in with 2-19 from three overs and five deliveries.
JDF’s opponents in the second semi-final will be Pool 1 runners up St. James CA who got by Pool 2 winners Manchester CC by six wickets in the first match at the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium last Saturday.
Manchester batted first and made 153-8 from their 20 overs thanks to 47 not out off 23 balls from Brian Clarke and scores of 26 and 24 from Brad Barnes and Jamaine Morgan, respectively. Ziggy Levy took 3-40 from his four overs. Levy then returned to anchor the successful chase for St. James, making a 45-ball 65 not out including eight fours and two sixes at St. James reached 156-4 off their 20 overs. Omari Wright provided good support for Levy with 34 while Morgan took 2-19 from his four overs for Manchester.
Semi-final one bowls off at 9:00 am while the second is scheduled for 2:00 pm. The final will take place on Sunday, also at Sabina Park.
St. Elizabeth won the toss and chose to bat first, a decision than looked like the wrong one after they lost three quick wickets in the first six overs.
Carl Wright (3), Jordan Holness (1) and Kerry Holness (7) were all dismissed early as they found themselves 20-3 after 5.4 overs.
A crucial fourth wicket partnership of 89 between captain Damion Ebanks and Andre McCarthy followed and the innings was rescued.
By the time McCarthy was dismissed for a run-a-ball 24 in the 16th over, the platform was set for fireworks in the back-end. Those fireworks were provided by Ebanks, who made a 42-ball 56 including three fours and five sixes, and Troy Powell. Powell belted the JDF bowling all over Sabina Park to finish 55 not out off just 19 balls, hitting seven fours and four sixes.
In the end, St. Elizabeth posted an intimidating 182-7 off their 20 overs. Pacer Gordon Bryan took 3-25 while Richard Young ended with 2-33 off three overs for JDF.
JDF, in their turn at the crease, found themselves in a similar position to St. Elizabeth, losing three wickets before the end of the first powerplay of six overs.
After 4.5 overs, they were scoring well at 34 but Tevin Gilzene (7), Marlon Saunders (3) and Kevin Daley (11) were all already back in the shed.
Deethmar Anderson and Gordon Bryan then formed a partnership that produced 69 runs before Anderson was dismissed for 44 in the 14th over to leave the Soldiers 103-4. The score quickly became 104-5 as Bryan was removed for 28 at the start of the 15th over.
All-rounder Dennis Bulli then made his way to the wicket and had a brief cameo, 19 off just six balls including three sixes, but his dismissal in the 16th over effectively ended JDF’s hopes of chasing the total down.
The end came prematurely, however, as the umpires got together after 17 overs and decided that the light was insufficient for play, putting an end to proceedings with JDF on 139-6, needing 43 runs off 18 balls, and being 10 runs short of the Duckworth-Lewis par score of 149 after 17 overs.
Pacer Omar Samuels took 2-13 from three overs for the champions.
CEO of the Jamaica Cricket Association, Courtney Francis, issued a memo to all teams notifying them of the postponement on Thursday of the matches that were scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
“In light of the information from the Met Office of Jamaica, the JCA T20 Bashment matches originally scheduled for this weekend of September 24 & 25, 2022 are rescheduled for the following weekend of October 1 & 2, 2022. The fixtures will be adjusted by one week to accommodate the remainder of the competition. Best if we err on the side of caution,” Francis said.
“The JCA is impressing upon each individual to listen and watch for weather updates and advisories. Getting up to date information is an important part of you and your loved ones staying safe during what may be a challenging few days ahead,” he added.
Rounds six and seven are the last games of the preliminary round and will determine who advances to the quarterfinals.
