SVG Regional Police T20 champs

The Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) are the champions of the Regional Police T20 Tournament.

Playing at Kensington Oval on Monday the Vincentians overcame their fellow Windward Islands counterparts, the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) in a low scoring final, winning by 15 runs to take the championship for a seventh occasion.

In front of a festive bank holiday crowd of over two thousand, St Vincent could only muster 130 all out off 19 overs but rebounded to restrict the Grenadians to 115 for nine in the full allotment.

On the helpful pitch that offered both pace and bounce, paceman Nicholas Redhead rocked the early SVG batting, removing opener Shammam Hooper and number three Dillon Douglas inside the first three overs. Hooper fended a sharply rising delivery to the fielder at short leg in Redhead’s first over and Douglas, the leading scorer in the tournament, spliced an attempted hook, only to be caught at midwicket in his second over.

Skipper Desron Maloney linked up with the other opening bat Salvan Browne to restore the innings with a partnership worth 79 off 69 balls but once they were separated in the 15^th over it all went downhill.

Legspinner Daryl Cyrus, who accounted for the pair within two deliveries of each other, spun the game on its head as the last eight wickets tumbled for 28 runs from 5.5 overs.

Browne’s even fifty, inclusive of six fours and a six off 43 balls, was the sole half-century and earned the righthander the player of the match prize, while the captain contributed 25.

Cyrus finished with three wickets for 21 runs while Redhead, who took the last two wickets, got four for 29.

Grenada’s innings took a similar pattern, slipping to 33 for two in the fifth over, but whereas the Vincentians recovered through Browne’s and Martin’s stand that steadied the middle overs, no significant partnerships were allowed for the Spice Isle cricketers. A combination of pace from one end and spin from the other stifled the middle order and none of the batsmen broke free of the shackles imposed. Stand-in skipper Roland Cato, handicapped by an injury in the field, was rendered almost immobile when he came at number five with 46 required from the last six overs but was soon forced to retire.

Douglas grabbed three cheap wickets in the final over to record figures of three for ten but fast bowlers 2-14 and Romario Bibby – one wicket for 18 in four overs – were the bowlers primarily responsible for choking Grenada’s chase.

Douglas (284 runs) and Trinidad and Tobago Police Service’s Mikel Riley (14 wickets) were the leading batsman and bowler, respectively, and the tournament climaxed with Attorney General Dale Marshall presenting the challenge trophy to RSVGPF captain Maloney. (AGH)