In a stingy seven-over spell of clever left-hand slow bowling, Lonelle Hutson laid the groundwork for a comprehensive six-wicket victory by LIME over St Catherine in the final of the G4S Masters Cricket Tournament at Banks yesterday.
Hutson took three wickets for 16 runs as St Catherine collapsed to 129 all out off 29.2 overs after they opted to bat.In reply LIME cruised to 130 for four off 26. 2 overs, led by a solid unbeaten 38 from Brian Johnson.
There was early frustration for St Catherine when opener Rohan Watson was run out with the score on ten.
Shortly after that Hutson trapped the other Watson, Errol, lbw to reduce St Catherine to 16 for two.
The loss of their captain seemed to trigger some uncertainty in the St Catherine camp and Hutson quickly added two more scalps, Othneil Sargeant and Terry Connell, both caught by Johnson as the Philip side declined to 46 for four.
While wickets tumbled at one end, Ahmed Proverbs sparkled at the other. He was bowled by Gordon Maxwell with a no-ball, called for height, but nevertheless got the better of the bowler who conceded a whopping 31 runs from his three overs.
Proverbs batted brilliantly but found little support. When he brought up his half-century off 50 deliveries, no one else had even reached double figures. He counted six boundaries in his 56 made off 54 balls. Few strokes were as fluent as an extra cover drive to the boundary.
When he was seventh out in the 21st over at 102 for seven, St Catherine’s resistance ended. Junior Parris (16) and Joseph Bishop (12 not out) were the only other batsmen to make it to double figures.
Bishop, apparently fighting emotional battles related to the recent death of a family member, retired briefly at the end of the 27th over with eight wickets already gone. He returned shortly after but the innings soon ended when last man George Browne was bowled by Anthony Morris.
Ron Bates (31) and Dave Estwick (33) put LIME on course for victory with a polished opening stand of 55 in 10.3 overs.
Both fell to off-spinner Browne but Johnson played responsibly to score 38 off 40 balls with a six and three fours. Courtney Browne (18) helped him add 46 for the fourth wicket.
Browne was the most successful bowler with two for 35, while Johnson won the Man Of The Match award.
