Nicholas Pooran hit 137* from 55 balls to help MI New York defeat the Seattle Orcas to win the inaugural Major League Cricket title.
MI New York Captain, Nicholas Pooran, played one of the greatest T20 innings you will ever see to lift his side to a dominant seven-wicket victory over the Seattle Orcas to claim the first ever Major League Cricket title at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Sunday.
The day started with the Orcas making a respectable 183-9 off their 20 overs after being put in to bat by Pooran.
The bulk of their scoring was done by South African superstar, Quinton De Kock.
The opener, fresh off 88* in Qualifier 1 against the Texas Super Kings on Thursday to help the Orcas advance to the final, made a 52-ball 87 including nine fours and four sixes on Sunday.
He was supported well by Shubham Ranjane and Dwaine Pretorius who had scores of 29 and 21, respectively. Pretorius’ knock came off just seven balls and included three fours and a six.
Rashid Khan was, as usual, brilliant with the ball for MI New York with 3-9 from his four overs while Trent Boult took 3-34 from his four over spell.
MI New York’s chase got off to a rough start when Steven Taylor was bowled by Imad Wasim for a duck in the first over but then, the Pooran show started.
In what was a magnificent knock, the left-hander from Trinidad hit 10 fours and 13 sixes on his way to a 55-ball 137* to lead his team to victory. His fifty came up off just 16 balls while his century took 40 balls.
Dewald Brevis was the next highest scorer with 20 as MI New York needed just 16 overs to reach 184-3 and put themselves down in the history books as the first ever champions of Major League Cricket.
Pooran ended the tournament as the leading run scorer with 388 runs in eight matches at an average of 64.66. He was also named as the tournament MVP.
His MI New York teammate, Trent Boult, topped the leading wicket-taker list with 22, 11 more than anybody else.
Bradley Jacks is a budding journalist and an avid sports fan. His love of research and sports has led him to SportsMax.tv, a place where those passions work hand in hand to allow him to produce content.
“We want everyone involved”- Chung hoping for massive support for Reggae Boyz in Nations League Quarterfinal against USA
General Secretary of the Jamaica Football Federation, Dennis Chung, is hoping that Jamaicans come out in their numbers to support the Reggae Boyz during both legs of their CONCACAF Nations League Quarter-final at the National Stadium in Kingston on Thursday, November 14 and Energizer Park in St. Louis, Missouri on Monday, November 18.
The Reggae Boyz will be looking for revenge over their American counterparts after suffering defeat to them at the semi-final stage of last season’s Nations League 1-3 in extra time. The USA went on to win the whole thing with a 2-0 victory over Mexico in the final while the Reggae Boyz beat Panama 1-0 to claim third place.
If the Boyz are to get over the hump this time around, Chung understands that a massive part of it will be the energy they receive from the thousands of Jamaican fans in attendance.
“We are at the quarterfinal stage. We want to ensure that we are there in our numbers supporting the Boyz because we have to make it past the mighty USA which, after we finish with them, they won’t be so mighty,” Chung said in press conference on Monday.
As such, three support groups for Jamaican football-Reggae Boyz Supporters Club, Reggae Football Fans Club and Reggae Boyz Community, are all making it possible for fans from all over the diaspora to have an opportunity to cheer on the Reggae Boyz live and in person.
“We want to welcome this partnership because this is a way for us now to reach our fanbase. We want to ensure that everyone is involved. At the last two games we had over 17,000 people in attendance and that, for us, is very important. It’s not just about playing football. It’s about getting everybody involved,” Chung said on Monday.
Errol Walters and Louis Grant, members of the Reggae Football Fans Club, were also on hand on Monday and gave an overview of this initiative.
“It’s an honor and a pleasure to be serving our country in this way. What we’re trying to do is create an opportunity for fans in the diaspora that we use our collective bargaining power to negotiate to go to the games,” Walters said.
“There are times when I’m in London and want to go to a game and I have no one to travel with so it was always my dream to create a database to say listen, who’s going to the game from where,” Walters added.
Grant explained that this idea came about because of the desire of members of the diaspora to be a driving force behind the support of the team on their journey to the World Cup in 2026.
“This was birthed out a desire to be the proverbial 12th man for our football teams and more so for the second iteration of the historic trip to the World Cup. We, as members of the diaspora here in the United States, think it’s only right that we play our part in drumming up support as far as leveraging air travel, accommodation, and support,”
“For example, we’ve been in touch with US Soccer with regards to the game in St. Louis. We’ve gotten a section that we can have all or most of our supporters concentrated to create that ‘Office’ vibe,”
“In my experience, we’ve gone to games in my area and you’d see our supporters and our flag sparsely across the various stadiums and we are of the opinion that if we were more concentrated in one section, it bodes well or it is a better look and feel for our team,” he added.
West Indies Academy secures first win of the season with 22-run DLS method victory over CCC
The West Indies Academy recorded their first win of the 2024 CG United Super50 Cup season with a 22-run DLS method win over the Combined Campuses and Colleges at the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground in St. Augustine on Monday.
CCC, who were also seeking their first win of the season, were first dismissed for 174 in 39.5 overs after winning the toss and batting first.
Experienced opener Kieran Powell top scored with 46 off 42 balls including eight fours while Shaqkere Parris made 40 and Johann Jeremiah hit 33.
Jediah Blades continued his good form with the ball this season with 3-23 from six overs and was well supported by Zishan Motara who took 3-31 from his 10 overs.
Joshua Bishop also bowled well with 2-25 from 6.5 overs.
In reply, the Academy were 167-7 off 40.5 overs, 22 runs ahead of the DLS par score when the rain brought an end to proceedings.
Andrew Rambaran and Johann Layne put together a crucial eighth wicket partnership, helping the Academy recover from 118-7 in the 29th over.
Rambaran finished 37* while Layne finished 25* off 28 balls including two fours and two sixes.
Earlier, Rivaldo Clarke top scored with 38. Romario Greaves was excellent with the ball for the CCC with 5-45 from his 10 overs while the other two wickets were split between Akeem Jordan and Abhijai Mansingh.
Full Scores:
Combined Campuses and Colleges 174 off 39.5 overs (Kieran Powell 46, Shaqkere Parris 40, Johann Jeremiah 33, Jediah Blades 3-23, Zishan Motara 3-31, Joshua Bishop 2-25)
West Indies Academy 167-7 off 40.5 overs (Rivaldo Clarke 38, Andrew Rambaran 37*, Johann Layne 25*, Romario Greaves 5-45).
Molineux stars with 64 as Melbourne Renegades Women win second match in a row
Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin’s Melbourne Renegades Women got their second win in a row in the Women’s Big Bash League thanks to a brilliant batting display from captain Sophie Molineux against Adelaide Strikers Women at the Junction Oval in Melbourne on Sunday.
The Renegades, chasing 158 for victory, found themselves 52-5 in the ninth over when Molineux came to the crease to join Dottin.
The pair put on a crucial 79 runs before Dottin fell for 20. Seven runs later, Molineux fell for a match-winning 32-ball 64 including nine fours and three sixes.
Eventually needing six runs off the final over, Nicole Faltum and Sarah Coyte guided the Renegades to victory.
Darcie Brown, Amanda-Jade Wellington and Jemma Barsby took two wickets, each, for the Strikers in their efforts to defend what looked like a match-winning total.
Earlier, captain Talia McGrath led the way with 64 off 44 balls including eight fours and a six while Orla Prendergast supported well with 31 as the Strikers made 157-5 from their 20 overs after winning the toss.
Molineux took 2-39 from her four overs while Georgia Wareham and Alice Capsey split two wickets. Matthews and Dottin when wicketless in seven overs between them.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
