– Trophy Stall Angels cop women’s exhibition contest
By Avenash Ramzan
Local side Trophy Stall and the visiting New York Better Hope softball team emerged champions of the Open and Masters categories respectively on Sunday evening when the curtains came down on the Guyana Softball Cup III at the world famous Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground, Bourda.
In the Open 20/ 20 final, which was contested by two GT& T 10/ 10 champions, Trophy Stall romped to a commanding nine-wicket win over West Demerara side Wolf’s Warriors, while in the Masters 20/ 20 championship game, New York Better Hope prevailed by five wickets over Industry Super Kings of Guyana.
Batting first in the Open final, Wolf’s Warriors managed what turned out to be a woefully inadequate 126 from 17.3 overs with Ameer Nizamudin hitting 29 (1×4, 2x6s), Greg Singh 28 (1×4) and Azad Azeez 18 (1×6).
Martin Dutchin (3-14) and Fazal Rafiek (3-15) were the leading wicket-takers for Trophy Stall, who blazed to victory at 130-1 from 15.4 overs.
Rafiek, who was later named MVP and received a gold bracelet compliments of Steve’s Jewellery, led the run-chase with an attacking 59, which included five towering sixes and three boundaries. Surujpaul Deosarran, who was named Man-of-the-Match, was also in a destructive mood, hitting three fours and three maximums in a fluent 45 not out.
For the victory, Trophy Stall collected a huge trophy and Gy$ 800,000, while Wolf’s Warriors had to settle for Gy$ 200,000 and a trophy.
The finalists also received medals for their efforts.
In the Masters final, Industry Super Kings took first strike and posted 117 from 19.3 overs with S. Persaud scoring 23. Ronald Evelyn and Rasheed Gafoor grabbed 3-15 and 2-19 respectively for New York Better Hope, who completed victory at 120-5 from 19.1 overs.
Gus Gordon clobbored four sixes in a topscore of 47, while K. Sanichar made 28 (1×4). Bowling for Industry Super Kings, David Harper and Gerald Prashed picked up two wickets each.
New York Better Hope carted off the Gy$ 600,000 first prize and a massive trophy, while Industry Super Kings collected Gy$ 150,000 and a trophy. Like the Open category, the teams were also presented with medals, while Jagdesh Persaud of Industry Super Kings copped a gold bracelet for being the MVP of the Masters segment.
